Recent advances in nanomaterials integrated immunosensors for food toxin detection

Relationship between urinary tract infections and serum vitamin D level in adults and children- a literature review

Over time, researchers have accumulated significant evidence indicating that vitamin D deficiency not only impacts skeletal health but also contributes to the development and progression of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. The risk of low serum 1, 25(OH)2D3 level ultimately directs the way to morbidity, the beginning of new diseases, and numerous infections. Infections are the first entity that affects those with vitamin D deficiency. The common infection is urinary tract infection (UTI), and its relationship with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency remains controversial. This infection affects both men and women, but comparatively, women are more prone to this infection because of the short length of the urethra, which makes an easy entry for the bacteria. The low level of serum vitamin D increases the risk of UTIs in children. Recurrent UTIs are one of the major weaknesses in women; if left untreated, they progress to appallingly serious conditions like kidney dysfunction, liver damage, etc. Hence improving the vitamin D status may help to improve the immune system, thus making it more resistant to infections. In this review, we have focused on examining whether vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are the causes of UTIs and the association between them in women and children. We have also described the connection between vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency with UTIs and additional nanotechnology- based treatment strategies.

Novel Sensor Approaches of Aflatoxins Determination in Food and Beverage Samples

The rapid quantification of toxins in food and beverage products has become a significant issue in overcoming and preventing many life-threatening diseases. Aflatoxin-contaminated food is one of the reasons for primary liver cancer and induces some tumors and cancer types. Advancements in biosensors technology have brought out different analysis methods. Therefore, the sensing performance has been improved for agricultural and beverage industries or food control processes. Nanomaterials are widely used for the enhancement of sensing performance. The enzymes, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP), antibodies, and aptamers can be used as biorecognition elements. The transducer part of the biosensor can be selected, such as optical, electrochemical, and mass-based. This review explains the classification of major types of aflatoxins, the importance of nanomaterials, electrochemical, optical biosensors, and QCM and their applications for the determination of aflatoxins.

Upconversion nanoparticles-modified aptasensors for highly sensitive mycotoxin detection for food quality and safety

Mycotoxins, highly toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by certain fungi, pose significant health risks as they contaminate food and feed products globally. Current mycotoxin detection methods have limitations in real-time detection capabilities. Aptasensors, incorporating aptamers as specific recognition elements, are crucial for mycotoxin detection due to their remarkable sensitivity and selectivity in identifying target mycotoxins. The sensitivity of aptasensors can be improved by using upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). UCNPs consist of lanthanide ions in ceramic host, and their ladder-like energy levels at f-orbitals have unique photophysical properties, including converting low-energy photons to high-energy emissions by a series of complex processes and offering sharp, low-noise, and sensitive near-infrared to visible detection strategy to enhance the efficacy of aptasensors for novel mycotoxin detection. This article aims to review recent reports on the scope of the potential of UCNPs in mycotoxin detection, focusing on their integration with aptasensors to give readers clear insight. We briefly describe the upconversion photoluminescence (UCPL) mechanism and relevant energy transfer processes influencing UCNP design and optimization. Furthermore, recent studies and advancements in UCNP-based aptasensors will be reviewed. We then discuss the potential impact of UCNP-modified aptasensors on food safety and present an outlook on future directions and challenges in this field. This review article comprehensively explains the current state-of-the-art UCNP-based aptasensors for mycotoxin detection. It provides insights into potential applications by addressing technical and practical challenges for practical implementation.

A Novel Preanalytical Strategy Enabling Application of a Colorimetric Nanoaptasensor for On-Site Detection of AFB1 in Cattle Feed

Aflatoxin contamination of cattle feed is responsible for serious adverse effects on animal and human health. A number of approaches have been reported to determine aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in a variety of feed samples using aptasensors. However, rapid analysis of AFB1 in these matrices remains to be addressed in light of the complexity of the preanalytical process. Herein we describe an optimization on the preanalytical stage to minimize the sample processing steps required to perform semi-quantitative colorimetric detection of AFB1 in cattle feed using a gold nanoparticle-based aptasensor (nano-aptasensor). The optical behavior of the nano-aptasensor was characterized in different organics solvents, with acetonitrile showing the least interference on the activity of the nan-aptasensor. This solvent was selected as the extractant agent for AFB1-containing feed, allowing for the first time, direct colorimetric detection from the crude extract (detection limit of 5 µg/kg). Overall, these results lend support to the application of this technology for the on-site detection of AFB1 in the dairy sector.

Engineered Nanomaterials for Improving the Nutritional Quality of Agricultural Products: A Review

To ensure food safety, the current agricultural development has put forward requirements for improving nutritional quality and reducing the harmful accumulation of agricultural chemicals. Nano-enabled sustainable agriculture and food security have been increasingly explored as a new research frontier. Nano-fertilizers show the potential to be more efficient than traditional fertilizers, reducing the amount used while ensuring plant uptake, supplying the inorganic nutrients needed by plants, and improving the process by which plants produce organic nutrients. Other agricultural uses of nanotechnology affect crop productivity and nutrient quality in addition to nano-fertilizers. This article will review the research progress of using nanomaterials to improve nutritional quality in recent years and point out the focus of future research.

Rapid sensing ofTilletia indica - Teliospore in wheat extractby apiezoelectric label free immunosensor

'Tilletia indica', a fungal pathogen causes Karnal bunt disease in wheat. It has been renowned as a quarantine pest in more than 50 countries, therefore, urged a threat to wheat in the international market. To date, conventional methods employed to detect the disease involve the tentative identification of spores (teliospores) based on morphology. For effective and specific disease control, it is essential to get the specific protein of the analyte (teliospore) to target. In present study, a label-free immunosensor has been developed to detect Karnal bunt disease. A specifically synthesized anti-teliosporic monoclonal antibody (mAb) was immobilized on a self-assembled monolayer of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA) to detect teliospore. All modified electrodes were morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy(AFM), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques and analytically characterized by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The linearity range was 19 pg mL^-1-10 ng mL^-1, while the detection limit (LOD) was 4.4 pg mL^-1 and 12.5 pg mL^-1, respectively. The stability, reproducibility, and repeatability of the immunoelectrode was examined by CV, and found stable upto 18 days with negligible variation. The binding affinity (association constant (K_a)) of the developed immunoelectrode was 1.9 × 10^-2 ng mL^-1. The real sample has been tested in spiked wheat samples and found about 95-103 % recovery with 2.8-4.4 % relative error.

Fabrication of a Mesoporous Multimetallic Oxide-based Ion-Sensitive Field Effect Transistor for pH Sensing

Sensitive and reliable noninvasive sensors are in demand to cope with an increasing need for robust working conditions and fast results. One of the leading potential technologies is field-effect transistor (FET)-based sensors to improve response time, sensitivity, and stability. Here, a sol-gel method fabricates an ion-sensitive field-effect transistor with a high current and output sensitivity for electrochemical sensing, solving binary device design, component regulating, and long-term stability, while maintaining the promoted sensitivity. Metal oxide-based devices with single and binary contents are fabricated and characterized for monitoring pH changes, with performance fitted to a Nernst-Poisson model. After detecting the performance, the result was compared with devices in different components and ratios to obtain excellent performance and high stability. In addition, these extended gate FETs with multimetallic oxide promise efficiency and stability optimization in terms of a flexible component design, demonstrating the feasibility of the novel sol-gel fabrication method to achieve efficient and reliable FET sensors.