Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Sensors (Basel). 2011;11(12):11692-716. doi: 10.3390/s111211692. Epub 2011 Dec 15.
Dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) are hazardous toxic, ubiquitous and persistent chemical compounds, which can enter the food chain and accumulate up to higher trophic levels. Their determination requires sophisticated methods, expensive facilities and instruments, well-trained personnel and expensive chemical reagents. Ideally, real-time monitoring using rapid detection methods should be applied to detect possible contamination along the food chain in order to prevent human exposure. Sensor technology may be promising in this respect. This review gives the state of the art for detecting possible contamination with dioxins and DL-PCBs along the food chain of animal-source foods. The main detection methods applied (i.e., high resolution gas-chromatography combined with high resolution mass-spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) and the chemical activated luciferase gene expression method (CALUX bioassay)), each have their limitations. Biosensors for detecting dioxins and related compounds, although still under development, show potential to overcome these limitations. Immunosensors and biomimetic-based biosensors potentially offer increased selectivity and sensitivity for dioxin and DL-PCB detection, while whole cell-based biosensors present interpretable biological results. The main shortcoming of current biosensors, however, is their detection level: this may be insufficient as limits for dioxins and DL-PCBs for food and feedstuffs are in pg per gram level. In addition, these contaminants are normally present in fat, a difficult matrix for biosensor detection. Therefore, simple and efficient extraction and clean-up procedures are required which may enable biosensors to detect dioxins and DL-PCBs contamination along the food chain.
二恶英和类二恶英多氯联苯（DL-PCBs）是危险的有毒、普遍存在且持久的化学物质，它们可以进入食物链并在更高的营养级中积累。它们的测定需要复杂的方法、昂贵的设备和仪器、训练有素的人员和昂贵的化学试剂。理想情况下，应使用快速检测方法进行实时监测，以检测食物链中可能存在的污染，从而防止人类暴露。传感器技术在这方面可能具有广阔的前景。本文综述了检测动物源性食品食物链中可能存在的二恶英和 DL-PCBs 污染的最新技术。应用的主要检测方法（即高分辨率气相色谱法与高分辨率质谱法（HRGC/HRMS）相结合和化学激活荧光素酶基因表达法（CALUX 生物测定法））各有其局限性。用于检测二恶英和相关化合物的生物传感器虽然仍在开发中，但显示出克服这些局限性的潜力。用于检测二恶英和 DL-PCB 的免疫传感器和基于仿生的生物传感器可能具有更高的选择性和灵敏度，而基于全细胞的生物传感器则提供可解释的生物学结果。然而，目前生物传感器的主要缺点是其检测水平：由于食品和饲料中二恶英和 DL-PCBs 的限量为 pg/g 级，这可能不足以满足要求。此外，这些污染物通常存在于脂肪中，这是生物传感器检测的一个困难基质。因此，需要简单高效的提取和净化程序，这可能使生物传感器能够检测食物链中的二恶英和 DL-PCBs 污染。
