Near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy methods (NIR, FTIR-ATR, FTIR-DRIFT) were evaluated for the detection and quantification of melamine in infant formula powder. Partial least-squares (PLS) models were established for correlating spectral data to melamine concentration: R(2) > 0.99, RMSECV ≤ 0.9, and RPD ≥ 12. Factorization analysis of spectra was able to differentiate unadulterated infant formula powder from samples containing 1 ppm melamine with no misclassifications, a confidence level of 99.99%, and selectivity > 2. These nondestructive methods require little or no sample preparation. The NIR method has an assay time of 1 min, and a 2 min total time to detection. The FTIR methods require up to 5 min for melamine detection. Therefore, NIR and FTIR methods enable rapid detection of 1 ppm melamine in infant formula powder.

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Microfiltration of chicken extracts has the potential to significantly decrease the time required to detect Salmonella, as long as the extract can be efficiently filtered and the pathogenic microorganisms kept in a viable state during this process. We present conditions that enable microfiltration by adding endopeptidase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens to chicken extracts or chicken rinse, prior to microfiltration with fluid flow on both retentate and permeate sides of 0.2 μm cutoff polysulfone and polyethersulfone hollow fiber membranes. After treatment with this protease, the distribution of micron, submicron, and nanometer particles in chicken extracts changes so that the size of the remaining particles corresponds to 0.4-1 μm. Together with alteration of dissolved proteins, this change helps to explain how membrane fouling might be minimized because the potential foulants are significantly smaller or larger than the membrane pore size. At the same time, we found that the presence of protein protects Salmonella from protease action, thus maintaining cell viability. Concentration and recovery of 1-10 CFU Salmonella/mL from 400 mL chicken rinse is possible in less than 4 h, with the microfiltration step requiring less than 25 min at fluxes of 0.028-0.32 mL/cm(2) min. The entire procedure-from sample processing to detection by polymerase chain reaction-is completed in 8 h.

We report detection of <13 CFU of Salmonella per 25 g egg white within 7 h by concentrating the bacteria using microfiltration through 0.2-μm cutoff polyethersulfone hollow fiber membranes. A combination of enzyme treatment, controlled cross-flow on both sides of the hollow fibers, and media selection were key to controlling membrane fouling so that rapid concentration and the subsequent detection of low numbers of microbial cells were achieved. We leveraged the protective effect of egg white proteins and peptone so that the proteolytic enzymes did not attack the living cells while hydrolyzing the egg white proteins responsible for fouling. The molecular weight of egg white proteins was reduced from about 70 kDa to 15 kDa during hydrolysis. This enabled a 50-fold concentration of the cells when a volume of 525 mL of peptone and egg white, containing 13 CFU of Salmonella, was decreased to a 10 mL volume in 50 min. A 10-min microcentrifugation step further concentrated the viable Salmonella cells by 10×. The final cell recovery exceeded 100%, indicating that microbial growth occurred during the 3-h processing time. The experiments leading to rapid concentration, recovery, and detection provided further insights on the nature of membrane fouling enabling fouling effects to be mitigated. Unlike most membrane processes where protein recovery is the goal, recovery of viable microorganisms for pathogen detection is the key measure of success, with modification of cell-free proteins being both acceptable and required to achieve rapid microfiltration of viable microorganisms. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1464-1471, 2016.

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