Biosensors in Vitamin Analysis of Foods

Abstract

4.1 IntroductionAlthough surface plasmon resonance ( SPR ) -based biosensors are most commonly associated with protein interaction analysis in the life sciences and drug discovery, the technology is now also well established in the food industry [1 -6] .Final product analysis levels of many water -soluble vitamins in fortifi ed foods is routinely carried out via microbiological analysis ( MA ) in the majority of food processor quality control laboratories and contract laboratories. As these methods commonly require a 2 -3 day turnaround for results, alternative robust and reliable methods for many of these vitamins, in a range of matrices, are in high demand [7 -9] . High -performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC ) methods are useful in the analysis of simple pharmaceutical products and raw ingredient premixes, but the complexities of sample preparation and sensitivity in the range of samples to which vitamins are now added have limited the adoption of this approach across the industry. Traditional immunological methods, such as enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) and radioimmunoassay ( RIA ), can be used to good effect although they have been slow to gain acceptance due to concerns over poor reproducibility [10 -14] .The main advantages of SPR -based detection over alternative analytical techniques such as MA include ease of use, simpler and faster sample purifi cation or preparation, and reduced assay time (from days to minutes in some cases) in the measurement of vitamins and also a whole range of endogenous and xenobiotic food components. TechnologyBiacore ™ Q is a fully automated SPR -based instrument from GE Healthcare (Uppsala, Sweden), designed for routine analysis of food. To make the analysis

Surface Plasmon Biosensor Platform for Food Industry

“…There is a popular SPR sensor chip sold by GE healthcare called Qflex Kits [14]. The Qflex Kits can be used to detect a variety of drug residues in food, for example:…”