Biodegradable Microparticles for Simultaneous Detection of Counterfeit and Deteriorated Edible Products

Abstract

In an era of globalized trade relations where food and pharmaceutical products cross borders effortlessly, consumers face counterfeit and deteriorated products at elevated rates. This paper presents multifunctional, biodegradable hydrogel microparticles that can provide information on the authenticity and the potential deterioration of the tagged food or pharmaceutical formulations. These microparticles integrate spatially patterned authenticity code with two sensors-the first one detects possible presence of pathogenic microbes through monitoring pH while the second one identifies products stored above optimal temperatures via optical monitoring of the microparticle degradation. Particles are synthesized from a biocompatible polymer and a photoinitiator, dextran modified with 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate and riboflavin, respectively, using a continuous, high throughput method stop-flow lithography. The proposed synthesis approach also enables crosslinking with visible light bringing about additional flexibility to flow lithography. Model liquid and solid food and pharmaceutical products are successfully labeled with microparticles and the functionality of the sensors in aqueous solutions is demonstrated.

Anisotropic Microparticles from Microfluidics

“…In addition to the abovementioned applications, anisotropic particles have also been widely applied in many other fields. [169][170][171][172] For instance, there have been a great number of anisotropic particles applied in anti-counterfeiting. As the counterfeit consumer goods are on the rise globally, emerging needs have been raised to develop anti-counterfeiting technique.…”

“…The complex anisotropy of these particles endowed them with high anti-counterfeiting capability grade. Taking advantage of this property, Rehor and coworkers proposed a novel kind of biodegradable anisotropic microparticles that could be directly embedded onto the formulation for anti-counterfeiting 170 (Figure 18A). It was proved that these anisotropic particles were suitable for labeling ll Chem 7, 93-136, January 14, 2021 127 Review both solid and liquid formulations and could be easily visualized by using a simple fluorescent microscope and a smartphone, showing great potential in a practical anti-counterfeiting application.…”

Materials and Technologies to Combat Counterfeiting of Pharmaceuticals: Current and Future Problem Tackling

“…Copyright 2010 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim; C) Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2011 American Chemical Society; D) Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2017 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim; E) Reproduced with permission .…”

“…As illustrated in Figure D, Rehor et al designed biodegradable dextran‐based microgel particles bearing a spatially patterned binary authenticity code. Such micrometer‐sized particles can be visualized using a standard fluorescence microscope and via an app on a smartphone.…”

Multi‐Color Luminescence Transition of Upconversion Nanocrystals via Crystal Phase Control with SiO2 for High Temperature Thermal Labels

“…By rationally combining this strategy with an additive color mixing method using a mask-less flow lithography technique, single to multiple luminescence color transition, scalable labeling systems with hidden letters-, and multi-luminescence colored microparticles are demonstrated for a UCNs luminescence color change-based high temperature labeling system.Spectrally tunable microarchitectures are effective information media because they act as carriers of luminescent materials that change their properties in response to external stimuli. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] However, it is challenging to meet the stringent requirements of practical applications, such as in optical labeling systems under high-temperature conditions. Thus, robust optical system with high thermal stability is required to reliably ensure product identification and the valuable information under high-temperature thermal processes such as sterilization and cleansing of the steel, ceramic, [21] and aerospace industries.…”