Soman Soja Saghar, Samad Shafeek Abdul, Venugopalan Priyamvada, Kumawat Nityanand, Kumar Sunil
Division of Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 129188, UAE.
Biomicrofluidics. 2024 May 2;18(3):031501. doi: 10.1063/5.0192295. eCollection 2024 May.
Foodborne pathogens, food adulterants, allergens, and toxic chemicals in food can cause major health hazards to humans and animals. Stringent quality control measures at all stages of food processing are required to ensure food safety. There is, therefore, a global need for affordable, reliable, and rapid tests that can be conducted at different process steps and processing sites, spanning the range from the sourcing of food to the end-product acquired by the consumer. Current laboratory-based food quality control tests are well established, but many are not suitable for rapid on-site investigations and are costly. Microfluidic paper analytical devices (μPADs) are a fast-growing field in medical diagnostics that can fill these gaps. In this review, we describe the latest developments in the applications of microfluidic paper analytic device (μPAD) technology in the food safety sector. State-of-the-art μPAD designs and fabrication methods, microfluidic assay principles, and various types of μPAD devices with food-specific applications are discussed. We have identified the prominent research and development trends and future directions for maximizing the value of microfluidic technology in the food sector and have highlighted key areas for improvement. We conclude that the μPAD technology is promising in food safety applications by using novel materials and improved methods to enhance the sensitivity and specificity of the assays, with low cost.
食源性病原体、食品掺假物、过敏原和食品中的有毒化学物质会对人类和动物造成重大健康危害。在食品加工的各个阶段都需要严格的质量控制措施来确保食品安全。因此，全球都需要价格合理、可靠且快速的检测方法，这些检测可以在从食品采购到消费者获得最终产品的不同加工步骤和加工地点进行。当前基于实验室的食品质量控制检测方法已经很成熟，但许多方法并不适用于快速现场检测，而且成本高昂。微流控纸基分析装置（μPADs）是医学诊断领域中一个快速发展的领域，能够填补这些空白。在这篇综述中，我们描述了微流控纸基分析装置（μPAD）技术在食品安全领域应用的最新进展。讨论了最先进的μPAD设计和制造方法、微流控检测原理以及具有特定食品应用的各类μPAD装置。我们确定了在食品领域最大化微流控技术价值的突出研发趋势和未来方向，并强调了关键的改进领域。我们得出结论，通过使用新型材料和改进方法来提高检测的灵敏度和特异性且成本低廉，μPAD技术在食品安全应用中具有广阔前景。
