Highlights•Background to the evolution of biosensor based on nanoparticles.•Application of nanoparticles in biosensor devices.•Overview of biosensor formats applied in food testing.•Examples of integrated biosensor systems for food sampling.•Prospects and challenges in nanosensors in pathogen testing.The following will provide an overview on how advances in nanoparticle technology have contributed towards developing biosensors to screen for safety and quality markers associated with foods. The novel properties of nanoparticles will be described and how such characteristics have been exploited in sensor design will be provided. All the biosensor formats were initially developed for the health care sector to meet the demand for point-of-care diagnostics. As a consequence, research has been directed towards miniaturization thereby reducing the sample volume to nanolitres. However, the needs of the food sector are very different which may ultimately limit commercial application of nanoparticle based nanosensors.
IntroductionThrough evolution we have developed senses to enable us to differentiate good foods from bad. The art of cheese making, brewing and viticulture has relied on the producer using their senses to assess quality. Establishing if a food was safe was more problematic and typically relied on tasters to ensure dishes provided to their masters were sound. Clearly, analytical testing is a more reliable and objective means of assessing the quality and safety of foods. Laboratory testing provided a basis for developing protocols and limits that could be applied to foods to define quality or safety. Yet, the expense and delay in acquiring results remain critical limitations. Consequently, there is an on-going demand for biosensors that can be used outside the laboratory environment to assess the safety and quality of foods on-site.In many instances the needs of the food industry mirrored that of the health sector where rapid diagnostics would enhance treatments and prognosis. The health sector provides a more lucrative market for diagnostic companies so it is not unexpected to find that the majority of research to date has been towards developing biosensors to meet the market demands. Consequently, those biosensors encountered in the food sector are derived from those devices initially fabricated to meet the needs of the health care sector. Within this context, the following review provides a brief history on how the field of biosensors developed and the contribution made by advances in nanoparticle technology. The efforts in transferring biosensor technologies to the food sector will be provided with a focus on safety, and to a degree, quality assessment. The review does not attempt to provide an exhaustive list of advances given the numerous quality reviews are already published in this area (Arugula and Simonian,
