Mishra Kundan Kumar, Thakkar Krupa M, Dhamu Vikram Narayanan, Muthukumar Sriram, Prasad Shalini
Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
EnLiSense LLC, 1813 Audubon Pondway, Allen, TX 75013, USA.
Biosensors (Basel). 2025 Jun 4;15(6):361. doi: 10.3390/bios15060361.
Zearalenone (ZEA), a potent mycotoxin commonly found in contaminated grains, presents a serious threat to food safety and public health. Conventional detection methods, including culture-based assays and laboratory-bound analytical tools, are often time-consuming, require specialized infrastructure, and lack portability, limiting their utility for rapid, on-site screening. In response, this study introduces a compact, real-time electrochemical sensing platform for the swift and selective detection of ZEA in corn flour matrices. Utilizing a non-faradaic, label-free approach based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), the sensor leverages ZEA-specific antibodies to achieve rapid detection within 5 min. The platform demonstrates a low detection limit of 0.05 ng/mL, with a broad dynamic range from 0.1 ng/mL to 25.6 ng/mL. Reproducibility tests confirm consistent performance, with both inter- and intra-assay variation remaining under a 20% coefficient of variation (%CV). Comparative evaluation with standard benchtop systems underscores its accuracy and field applicability. This portable and user-friendly device provides a powerful tool for real-time mycotoxin monitoring, offering significant potential for improving food safety practices and enabling point-of-need testing in resource-limited settings.
玉米赤霉烯酮（ZEA）是一种常见于受污染谷物中的强效霉菌毒素，对食品安全和公众健康构成严重威胁。传统的检测方法，包括基于培养的分析方法和实验室专用分析工具，通常耗时较长，需要专门的基础设施，且缺乏便携性，限制了它们在快速现场筛查中的应用。作为回应，本研究引入了一种紧凑的实时电化学传感平台，用于快速、选择性地检测玉米粉基质中的ZEA。该传感器利用基于电化学阻抗谱（EIS）的非法拉第、无标记方法，借助ZEA特异性抗体在5分钟内实现快速检测。该平台的检测限低至0.05 ng/mL，动态范围宽，从0.1 ng/mL到25.6 ng/mL。重现性测试证实了其性能的一致性，批间和批内变异系数（%CV）均保持在20%以下。与标准台式系统的比较评估突出了其准确性和现场适用性。这种便携式且用户友好的设备为实时霉菌毒素监测提供了强大工具，在改善食品安全实践以及在资源有限的环境中实现即时检测方面具有巨大潜力。
