Current trends in sample preparation by solid-phase extraction techniques for the determination of antibiotic residues in foodstuffs: a review

Entry, fate and impact of antibiotics in rice agroecosystem: a comprehensive review

Antibiotics are extensively used to manage human, animal and plant ailments caused by microbial infections. However, rampant use of antibiotics has led to the development of antibiotic resistance, which is a public health concern. The development of antibiotic resistance is significantly influenced by agro-ecosystems. Rice agroecosystem receives high levels of antibiotics from direct applications, and sources like manure and irrigation water. Consequently, uptake of antibiotic residues by rice (Oryza sativa L.) is resulting in accumulation of antibiotics in plant parts. Accumulation of these antibiotics can be toxic to plant, and can be partitioned to rice grain and straw, and reach the human and animal food chain leading to the development of antibiotic resistance. Moreover, the antibiotics can alter soil microbes, which would result in loss of production. This study compiles information from existing literature on global antibiotic usage and explores how antibiotics enter the rice ecosystem through contaminated wastewater, manure, sewage sludge, and through direct application. A detailed discussion on the persistence and movement of antibiotics in different environment compartments is provided. The review also highlights the impacts of antibiotics on plants and natural microbiota, as well as issues pertaining to antimicrobial resistance in public health sectors. For sustainable mitigation of the issues of antibiotic residues in rice ecosystem, we suggest application of decontaminated manure, microbial bioremediation, optimization of the use of plant-based alternatives, enhancing regulations, and fostering global collaboration. We advocate integrated disease management approaches which can significantly reduce the antibiotic use in rice agroecosystem.

Melt-blown polypropylene nonwoven as an efficient and eco-economic sorbent for pipette tip micro-solid phase extraction for the determination of tyrosine kinase inhibitors

BACKGROUND

The detection of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in biological fluids is essential due to their critical role in cancer therapy and the variability in individual drug metabolism, which necessitates precise dosing. Traditional methods for analyzing TKIs in biological fluids, such as blood plasma, typically involve complex sample preparation techniques that can be resource-intensive, environmentally burdensome, and not sufficiently sensitive for low-concentration analytes. There is a pressing need for more efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly methods that can enhance sensitivity and throughput without compromising accuracy.

RESULTS

This study explores the use of melt-blown polypropylene nonwoven (MBPP), commonly found in face masks, as a novel sorbent for pipette-tip micro-solid phase extraction (PT-μSPE). MBPP demonstrated excellent hydrophobicity and significant mesoporous adsorption capacity. An extraction device was fashioned by inserting a segment of MBPP (15 mg) into a 200 μL disposable plastic pipette tip, which was then attached to a 2.5 mL disposable plastic syringe. The MBPP's fabric form removes the need for a frit, allowing the extraction process to be completed in just 3 min through simple plunger manipulation. The method achieved extraction recoveries ranging from 60.5 % to nearly 100 %. Subsequent method validation using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) showed satisfactory linearity (coefficient of determination R2 > 0.993), accuracy (relative recoveries: 86.3%-114.8 %), and precision (relative standard deviation: 3.4%-11.3 %), with detection limits between 0.022 and 0.135 ng mL-1.

SIGNIFICANCE

The introduction of MBPP for PT-μSPE represents a significant advancement in the bioanalytical detection of TKIs, offering a highly efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable method. It compares favorably with existing techniques, offering advantages in terms of cost, environmental impact, and ease of use. This approach has the potential to be widely adopted for routine monitoring of TKIs in clinical settings.

Hollow microporous organic network fiber membrane for efficient extraction of okadaic acid from marine organisms

Membrane-based micro-solid phase extraction (M-μSPE) has garnered great attention in sample pretreatment, suffering an inherent contradiction between permeability and adsorption capacity. In this study, a pure microporous organic network (TEB-DIB-MON) fiber membrane was prepared by combining electrostatic spinning technology, Sonogashira-Hagihara reaction and template sacrifice method. The prepared TEB-DIB-MON membrane exhibited a large specific surface area with a hollow and porous structure, thereby providing excellent solvent permeability and high adsorption capacity for okadaic acid (OA, an algal toxin). Under the optimized conditions, a sensitive analytical method was established by coupling M-μSPE with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The established method has a low detection limit (0.5 pg mL-1), a wide linear range (1.5-1000 pg mL-1, R ≥ 0.9991), and good reproducibility (RSD ≤ 9.4 %, n = 6), which was then successfully applied for OA detection in marine organisms. Trace amounts of OA (59.3-89.0 pg mL-1) was detected in the oyster and prawn samples. This work demonstrated that the excellent application potential of MON membranes in sample pretreatment, while also presents a novel synthesis strategy for MONs membranes.

Reports of tropane alkaloid poisonings and analytical techniques for their determination in food crops and products from 2013 to 2023

Food safety is crucial to attaining food security and sustainability. Unsafe foods for human and animal consumption lead to product recalls and rejection, negatively impacting the global economy and trade. Similarly, climate change can adversely affect the availability of safe and nutritious food at the table. The changing climatic conditions and global food trade and transport can make the movement of toxic plants possible, resulting in food crops being increasingly invaded by some species of plants that produce toxic secondary metabolites, such as tropane alkaloids (TAs). Datura stramonium from the Solanaceae plant family is an invasive and virulent plant that produces high amounts of two TAs, atropine and scopolamine. Various food poisoning events following accidental or deliberate ingestion of foods contaminated by atropine and scopolamine from seeds of D. stramonium have been recorded in different locations globally. Due to these incidents, regulatory agencies require the development of plant toxin detection methods that can be used in the food chain as early as possible. This systematic review thus focuses on the TA determination techniques in food and feeds published between 2013 and 2023. A particular focus was given to the sample preparation methods, the improvements of each technique claimed, and data to support the performance of each method, especially the ability to measure at or below the maximum level. The review concludes with other technological advancements, including rapid spectroscopy, electrophoresis, and colorimetric methods, as well as the possibility of coupling with smartphones for use in on-farm detection and the challenges in applying them.

Evaluation of the Multidimensional Enhanced Lateral Flow Immunoassay in Point-of-Care Nanosensors

Point-of-care (POC) nanosensors with high screening efficiency show promise for user-friendly manipulation in the ever-increasing on-site analysis demand for illness diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and food safety. Currently, inspired by the merits of integrating advanced nanomaterials, molecular biology, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA)-based POC nanosensors have been devoted to satisfying the commercial demands in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and practicality. Herein, we examine the use of multidimensional enhanced LFIA in various fields over the past two decades, focusing on introducing advanced nanomaterials to improve the acquisition capability of small order of magnitude targets through engineering transformations and emphasizing interdomain fusion to collaboratively address the inherent challenges in current commercial applications, such as multiplexing, development of detectors for quantitative analysis, more practical on-site monitoring, and sensitivity enhancement. Specifically, this comprehensive review encompasses the latest advances in comprehending LFIA with an alternative signal transduction pattern, aiming to achieve rapid, ultrasensitive, and "sample-to-answer" available options with progressive applications for POC nanosensors. In summary, through the cross-collaboration development of disciplines, LFIA has the potential to break the barriers toward commercialization and achieve laboratory-level POC nanosensors, thus leading to the emergence of the next generation of LFIA.

Analyzing urinary hippuric acid as a metabolic health biomarker through a supramolecular architecture

The prevalence of metabolic disorders has been found to increase concomitantly with alternations in habitual diet and lifestyle, indicating the importance of metabolic health monitoring for early warning of high-risk status and suggesting effective intervention strategies. Hippuric acid (HA), as one of the most abundant metabolites from the gut microbiota, holds potential as a regulator of metabolic health. Accordingly, it is imperative to establish an efficient, sensitive, and affordable method for large-scale population monitoring, revealing the association between HA level and metabolic disorders. Upon systematic screening of macrocycle•dye reporter pair, a supramolecular architecture (guanidinomethyl-modified calix[5]arene, GMC5A) was employed to sense urinary HA by employing fluorescein (Fl), whose complexation behavior was demonstrated by theoretical calculations, accomplishing quantification of HA in urine from 249 volunteers in the range of 0.10 mM and 10.93 mM. Excitedly, by restricted cubic spline, urinary HA concentration was found to have a significantly negative correlation with the risk of metabolic disorders when it exceeded 0.76 mM, suggesting the importance of dietary habits, especially the consumption of fruits, coffee, and tea, which was unveiled from a simple questionnaire survey. In this study, we accomplished a high throughput and sensitive detection of urinary HA based on supramolecular sensing with the GMC5A•Fl reporter pair, which sheds light on the rapid quantification of urinary HA as an indicator of metabolic health status and early intervention by balancing the daily diet.

Assessing antibiotic residues in sediments from mangrove ecosystems: A review

Antibiotics' widespread and abusive use in aquaculture and livestock leads to extensive environmental dissemination and dispersion, consequently increasing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in marine ecosystems. Hence, there is an increased need for efficient methods for identifying and quantifying antibiotic residues in soils and sediments. From a review of the last 20 years, we propose and compare different chromatographic techniques for detecting and quantifying antibiotics in sediment samples from marine ecosystems, particularly in mangrove forest sediments. The methods typically include three stages: extraction of antibiotics from the solid matrix, cleaning, and concentration of samples before quantification. We address the leading causes of the occurrence of antibiotics in marine ecosystem sediments and analyze the most appropriate methods for each analytical stage. Ultimately, selecting a method for identifying antibiotic residues depends on multiple factors, ranging from the nature and physicochemical properties of the analytes to the availability of the necessary equipment and the available resources.

Simultaneous Determination of 23 Pyrrolizidine and Tropane Alkaloids in Infusions from Dry Edible Flowers Using Optimized μSPEed® Microextraction Prior to Their Analysis by UHPLC-IT-MS/MS

A miniaturized solid-phase extraction of two tropane alkaloids (TAs) and twenty-one pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from infusions of dry edible flowers using optimized µSPEed® technique was developed. The optimization of the µSPEed® methodology involved testing different cartridges and comparing various volumes and numbers of loading cycles. The final conditions allowed for a rapid extraction, taking only 3.5 min. This was achieved using a C18-ODS cartridge, conditioning with 100 µL of methanol (two cycles), loading 100 µL of the infusion sample (seven cycles), and eluting the analytes with 100 µL of methanol (two cycles). Prior to their analysis by UHPLC-IT-MS/MS, the extracts were evaporated and reconstituted in 100 µL of water (0.2% formic acid)/methanol (0.2% ammonia) 95:5 (v/v), allowing for a preconcentration factor of seven times. The methodology was successfully validated obtaining recoveries ranging between 87 and 97%, RSD of less than 12%, and MQL between 0.09 and 0.2 µg/L. The validated methodology was applied to twenty samples of edible flower infusions to evaluate the safety of these products. Two infusion samples obtained from Acmella oleracea and Viola tricolor were contaminated with 0.16 and 0.2 µg/L of scopolamine (TA), respectively, while the infusion of Citrus aurantium was contaminated with intermedine and lycopsamine (PAs) below the MQL.

Recent Advances of Food Hazard Detection Based on Artificial Nanochannel Sensors

Food quality and safety are related to the health and safety of people, and food hazards are important influencing factors affecting food safety. It is strongly necessary to develop food safety rapid detection technology to ensure food safety. As a new detection technology, artificial nanochannel-based electrochemical and other methods have the advantages of being real-time, simple, and sensitive and are widely used in the detection of food hazards. In this paper, we review artificial nanochannel sensors as a new detection technology in food safety for different types of food hazards: biological hazards (bacteria, toxins, viruses) and chemical hazards (heavy metals, organic pollutants, food additives). At the same time, we critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of artificial nanochannel sensor detection, as well as the restrictions and solutions of detection, and finally look forward to the challenges and development prospects of food safety detection technology based on the limitations of artificial nanochannel detection. We expect to provide a theoretical basis and inspiration for the development of rapid real-time detection technology for food hazards and the production of portable detection equipment in the future.

All-in-one strategy to construct bifunctional covalent triazine-based frameworks for simultaneous extraction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and polychlorinated naphthalenes in foods

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) are of growing concern due to their toxic effects on the environment and human health. There is an urgent need for strategies to monitor and analyze the coexistence of PFASs and PCNs, especially in food samples at trace levels, to ensure food safety. Herein, a novel β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) derived fluoro-functionalized covalent triazine-based frameworks named CD-F-CTF was firstly synthesized. This innovative framework effectively combines the porous nature of the covalent organic framework and the host-guest recognition property of β-CD enabling the simultaneous extraction of PFASs and PCNs. Under the optimal conditions, a simple and rapid method was developed to analyze PFASs and PCNs by solid-phase extraction (SPE) based simultaneous extraction and stepwise elution (SESE) strategy for the first time. When coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), this method achieved impressive detection limits for PFASs (0.020 -0.023 ng/g) and PCNs (0.016 -0.075 ng/g). Furthermore, the excellent performance was validated in food samples with recoveries of 76.7-107 % (for PFASs) and 78.0-108 % (for PCNs). This work not only provides a simple and rapid technique for simultaneous monitoring of PFASs and PCNs in food and environmental samples, but also introduces a new idea for the designing novel adsorbents with multiple recognition sites.

On-line extraction and determination of coumarins compounds from mouse plasma based on a homemade phenyl-hybrid monolithic adsorbent

A phenyl-hybrid monolithic adsorbent was prepared using an organic monomer of ethylene glycol phenyl ether acrylate and inorganic monomers of tetramethoxysilane and vinyltrimethoxysilane, via polycondensation and polymerization in a stainless-steel column, which shows porous structure and multiple functional groups, according to the measurements of scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption method and infrared spectroscopy. The resulting hybrid phenyl-based monolith was used as a solid-phase extraction column, combining with an analytical column in conjunction with high-performance liquid chromatography system for the on-line extraction and determination of coumarins (praeruptorin A and praeruptorin B) in Peucedani Radix from mouse plasma. The homemade hybrid monolithic solid-phase extraction column exhibits good removal ability for the sample matrices, as well as unique selectivity for the two praeruptorins. Methodology validation results indicate that the present method is applicable for the on-line extraction and quantitative analysis of praeruptorin A and praeruptorin B in Peucedani Radix from mouse plasma with a limit of quantitation 0.06 μg/mL and a linear range 0.06-5 μg/mL (r＞0.999), thus indicating the present method is a promising and alternative method for the quantitative determination of similar target components with micro or trace concentration from complex extract solution and plasma.

Current analytical strategies for the determination of resveratrol in foods

Resveratrol, a non-flavonoid polyphenolic compound, possesses various beneficial properties such as anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant effects. It is naturally produced by many plants in response to stimulation. However, the content of resveratrol in natural plants can vary significantly, ranging from micrograms to milligrams per kilogram. As the demand for resveratrol increases, the development of methods for extracting and quantifying resveratrol in food has become a rapidly growing field in recent years. This review aims to comprehensively summarize the progress made in resveratrol analysis in food over the past decade (2012-2022), with a specific focus on the latest advancements in extraction and detection technologies. The objective is to offer a valuable reference for further research and utilization of resveratrol in various food applications.

Recent Advances in Design and Application of Nanomaterials-Based Colorimetric Biosensors for Agri-food Safety Analysis

A colorimetric sensor detects an analyte by utilizing the optical properties of the sensor unit, such as absorption or reflection, to generate a structural color that serves as the output signal to detect an analyte. Detecting the refractive index of an analyte by recording the color change of the sensor structure on its surface has several advantages, including simple operation, low cost, suitability for onsite analysis, and real-time detection. Colorimetric sensors have drawn much attention owing to their rapidity, simplicity, high sensitivity and selectivity. This Review discusses the use of colorimetric sensors in the food industry, including their applications for detecting food contaminants. The Review also provides insight into the scope of future research in this area.

A solid phase extraction column based on SiO2@ZIF-8 for efficient analysis of domoic acid toxins in the seawater environment: experiments and DFT calculations on adsorption behaviour

Algal toxins are important metabolites of toxic harmful algal blooms (HABs), and their qualitative and qualitative detection can serve as early warning indicators for toxic HABs, complementing traditional HAB monitoring and improving the accuracy of early warning. Therefore, this work took the detection of domoic acid (DA) as an example and prepared zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) with high enrichment performance and high water stability and its core-shell composite material SiO2@ZIF-8 as an adsorbent filler. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and interference experiments verified that Zn2+ on SiO2@ZIF-8 played a crucial role in enriching DA on SiO2@ZIF-8. By using it as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) filler, it showed excellent performance compared with other SPE columns (C18/HLB/SAX/ZIF-8). Therefore, the SiO2@ZIF-8 column was coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPE-HPLC-MS/MS) to establish a highly sensitive detection method for algal toxins in seawater, which had a wide linear range (12.0-5000.0 ng L-1), good reproducibility (RSD) and low limit of detection (4.0 ng L-1), and realized the monitoring of trace DA in the Pingtan sea area of Fujian Province from 2021 to 2022. By comparing other HAB early warning indicators such as salinity and pH and combining them with the information released by the Fujian Provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, the content of DA in seawater measured by the established SPE-HPLC-MS/MS method can provide reference information for HAB monitoring and early warning.

Nanoscale Materials Applying for the Detection of Mycotoxins in Foods

Trace amounts of mycotoxins in food matrices have caused a very serious problem of food safety and have attracted widespread attention. Developing accurate, sensitive, rapid mycotoxin detection and control strategies adapted to the complex matrices of food is crucial for in safeguarding public health. With the continuous development of nanotechnology and materials science, various nanoscale materials have been developed for the purification of complex food matrices or for providing response signals to achieve the accurate and rapid detection of various mycotoxins in food products. This article reviews and summarizes recent research (from 2018 to 2023) on new strategies and methods for the accurate or rapid detection of mold toxins in food samples using nanoscale materials. It places particular emphasis on outlining the characteristics of various nanoscale or nanostructural materials and their roles in the process of detecting mycotoxins. The aim of this paper is to promote the in-depth research and application of various nanoscale or structured materials and to provide guidance and reference for the development of strategies for the detection and control of mycotoxin contamination in complex matrices of food.

Challenges in sample preparation for swellable core technology tablets: Approaches for the removal of polyethylene oxide and optimization of API recovery

Swellable Core Technology (SCT) tablets, a solid oral dosage formulation designed for the controlled release of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), are made up of two distinct layers; an active layer containing the active ingredient (10-30%wt) and up to 90%wt polyethylene oxide (PEO); and a sweller layer which contains up to 65%wt PEO. The objective of this study was to develop a process to remove PEO from analytical test solutions and optimize API recovery using physicochemical properties of the API. Quantitation of PEO was performed by liquid chromatography (LC) using an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). This was used to build an understanding of removal of PEO using solid-phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction techniques. A workflow was proposed to allow efficient development of analytical methods for SCT tablets with optimized sample clean-up.

UiO-66-NH2: a recyclable and efficient sorbent for dispersive solid-phase extraction of fluorinated aromatic carboxylic acids from aqueous matrices

The present study describes the trace analysis of 23 fluorinated aromatic carboxylic acids based on the dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) technique using UiO-66-NH₂ MOF as efficient, recyclable sorbent, and GC-MS negative ionization mass spectrometry (NICI MS) as determination technique. All 23 fluorobenzoic acids (FBAs) were enriched, separated, and eluted in a shorter retention time; the derivatization was done by pentafluorobenzyl bromide (1% in acetone), in which the use of inorganic base K₂CO₃ was improved by triethylamine to increase the lifespan of the GC column. The performance of UiO-66-NH₂ was evaluated by dSPE in Milli-Q water, artificial seawater, and tap water samples, and the impact of various parameters on the extraction efficiency was investigated by GC-NICI MS. The method was found to be precise, reproducible, and applicable to the seawater samples. In the linearity range, the regression value was found to be >0.98; LOD and LOQ were found to be in the range of 0.33-1.17 ng/mL and 1.23-3.33 ng/mL, respectively; and the value of the extraction efficiency was found to range between 98.45 and 104.39% for Milli-Q water samples, 69.13-105.48% for salt-rich seawater samples, and 92.56-103.50% for tap water samples with a maximum RSD value of 6.87% that confirms the applicability of the method to different water matrices.

Antimicrobial-Resistant Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods: Implications for Food Safety and Risk Assessment

Antimicrobial resistance is an existential threat to the health sector, with far-reaching consequences in managing microbial infections. In this study, one hundred and ninety-four Listeria monocytogenes isolates were profiled for susceptibility using disc diffusion techniques. Possible foodborne listeriosis risk associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) foods (RTEF) and the risk of empirical treatment (EMPT) of L. monocytogenes infections, using multiple antimicrobial resistance indices (MARI) and antimicrobial resistance indices (ARI), respectively, were investigated. Twelve European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) prescribed/recommended antimicrobials (EPAS) for the treatment of listeriosis and ten non-prescribed antimicrobials (non-PAS)] were evaluated. Antimicrobial resistance > 50% against PAs including sulfamethoxazole (61.86%), trimethoprim (56.19%), amoxicillin (42.27%), penicillin (41.24%), and erythromycin (40.21%) was observed. Resistance > 50% against non-PAS, including oxytetracycline (60.89%), cefotetan (59.28%), ceftriaxone (53.09%), and streptomycin (40.21%) was also observed. About 55.67% and 65.46% of the isolates had MARI scores ranging from 0.25-0.92 and 0.30-0.70 for EPAs and non-PAs, respectively. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) between the MARI scores of the isolates for EPAs and non-PAs (means of 0.27 ± 0.21 and 0.31 ± 0.14, respectively). MARI/ARI scores above the Krumperman permissible threshold (>0.2) suggested a high risk/level of antimicrobial-resistant L. monocytogenes. The MARI risks of the non-success of empirical treatment (EMPT) attributed to EPAs and non-PAs were generally high (55.67% and 65.463%, respectively) due to the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. MARI-based estimated success and non-success of EMPT if EUCAST-prescribed antimicrobials were administered for the treatment of listeriosis were 44.329% and 55.67%, respectively. The EMPT if non-prescribed antimicrobials were administered for the treatment of listeriosis was 34.53% and 65.46%, respectively. This indicates a potentially high risk with PAs and non-PAs for the treatment of L. monocytogenes infection. Furthermore, ARI scores ≤ 0.2 for EPAs were observed in polony, potato chips, muffins, and assorted sandwiches, whereas ARI scores for non-PAs were >0.2 across all the RTE food types. The ARI-based estimate identified potential risks associated with some RTE foods, including fried fish, red Vienna sausage, Russian sausage, fruit salad, bread, meat pies, fried chicken, cupcakes, and vetkoek. This investigation identified a high risk of EMPT due to the presence of antimicrobial-resistant L. monocytogenes in RTE foods, which could result in severe health consequences.

Multiresidues Multiclass Analytical Methods for Determination of Antibiotics in Animal Origin Food: A Critical Analysis

Veterinary drugs are widely used to prevent and treat diseases. The European Union has forbidden the use of antibiotics as growth promoters since 2006. Its abusive use leads to the presence of antibiotic residues (AR) in foods of animal origin which is associated with antibiotic resistance. The monitoring of AR in food intended for human consumption is of utmost importance to assure Food Safety. A systematic bibliographic review was carried out on the analytical methodologies, published in 2013, for the determination of AR in foods of animal origin. The food processing effect in the AR detected in animal products is also addressed. However, there is a preference for multiresidues multiclass methods, i.e., methodologies that allow determining simultaneously different classes of antibiotics, which is still a challenge for researchers. The wide diversity of physico-chemical properties of these drugs is an obstacle to achieving excellent analytical performance for a vast number of molecules analyzed concurrently. New techniques in sample preparation continue to be developed in order to obtain a compromise between good recoveries and extracts without interferences (clean extracts). The most widely used analytical methodology for the determination of AR is liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. However, the current trend is focused on the use of powerful high-resolution MS detectors such as Time of Flight and Orbitrap with modern chromatographic systems. Cooking time and temperature control are the key processing conditions influencing the reduction of AR in foods.

Synthesis of hierarchical porous zirconium dioxide and its application in the detection of sulfonamides in animal-derived food

In order to effectively remove grease for the detection of sulfonamides, a non-toxic and low-cost hierarchical porous zirconia material was synthesized using the dual template method. The lipid impurities in an animal-derived food matrix can be absorbed by hierarchical zirconia. A ZrO₂ prepolymer was synthesized by mixing amphiphilic triblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (P123) with tannin extract as the double template and Zr(SO₄)₂ as the metal source. After aging, drying and calcination at high temperature, the prepolymer transforms into a hierarchical porous structure. The synthesized materials were characterized using SEM, XRD, FT-IR, and BET. The results show that the material has an abundant pore structure and hierarchical pore structure. The adsorption conditions were optimized. The hierarchical porous ZrO₂ synthesized by this method is relatively uniform, and is characterized by large specific surface area as well as high lipid impurity adsorption capacity. Through the optimization experiment of adsorption conditions, we found that hierarchical porous ZrO₂ can reach the maximum adsorption capacity in 60 min under weak acidic conditions. The samples are used for actual sample testing such as HPLC of sulfadiazine (SD), sulfamethazine (SM2), sulfamethoxydiazine (SMD), sulfamethoxazole (SIZ) and sulfadimethoxine (SDM), and the recovery experiment of sulfonamides in chicken was carried out. The recoveries were 80.9-97.6% and the detection limit was 3.8-17.6 μg L^-1. This work provides a new strategy for oil removal using hierarchical porous materials.

Strategies for studying in vivo biochemical formation pathways and multilevel distributions of sulfanilamide metabolites in food (2012-2022)

Sulfonamide metabolites are a major source of food pollution worldwide. However, the formation of internal sulfanilamide metabolites has only been investigated for selected compounds. In this paper, the fragmentation mechanism and characteristic ions of sulfonamide metabolites are reviewed using density functional theory and Q-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry. The result of the protonation site, rearrangement and bond breaking induced fragmentations at C₆H₆NO₂S⁺m/z 156.01138, C₆H₆NO⁺m/z 108.04439, and C₆H₆N⁺m/z 92.04948. Mass shifts are calculated for derivative metabolites, including hydrogenation, acetylation, oxidation, glucosylation, glucosidation, sulfation, deamination, formylation, desulfonation and O-aminomethylation. Given their homologous series, it is demonstrated that similar metabolic reactions occur for all sulfonamides. The suspicious sulfonamide metabolites are confirmed by d-labelling experiments and reference standards. This is the first review of the latest advances in the field of sulfonamide metabolite prediction (2012-2022), and scheme design for metabolite multirresidue screening, as well as the challenges in the mass spectrometry evolution.

Determination of trace antibiotics in water and milk via preconcentration and cleanup using activated carbons

CPAC-SPE-HPLC (coconut powdered activated carbon -SPE- HPLC) has been developed for the determination of antibiotic (ABX), sulfamonomethoxine sodium (SMM), oxytetracycline (OTC), ceftiofur hydrochloride (CEF) and marbofloxacin (MAR), in water and milk. Over 99.0% SMM and OTC were recovered from 20 mL of 0.5 μg/mL ABX solution using 10 mg-CPAC for adsorption and 2 mL of 30% NH₄OH/EtOH (1/19 v/v) for elution. Similarly, over 99.0% CEF and MAR were recovered using 15 mg-CPAC and 2 mL of 30% NH₄OH/n-PrOH (1/19 v/v). Moreover, the recovery efficiencies of various ABX from 5 to 80 mL of 0.02-2.00 μg/mL medicated milk containing 10 mM EDTA are ordered as follows: OTC (99.3%), SMM (99.1%) > CEF (68.9%) > MAR (61.4%). No interference towards HPLC analysis were observed with elution using 2 mL of 30% NH₄OH/EtOH (1/19 v/v). Furthermore, much lower limit of detections (0.02 μg/mL) than the maximum residual limits from European Commission (0.075-0.100 μg/mL) were obtained.

Rapid determination of 103 common veterinary drug residues in milk and dairy products by ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A multi-residue method has been developed for the identification and quantification of 103 common veterinary drug residues in milk and dairy Products. This method was based on QuEChERS with dispersive solid-phase where C18 sorbent and anhydrous sodium sulfate were used to sample purification. After evaporation and reconstitution, the samples were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The mean recovery results were all higher than 60% except ampicillin, pipemidic acid, enoxacin, and estriol, and the relative standard deviation was <20.0%. The limit of quantification ranged between 0.1 and 5 μg/kg for milk and between 0.5 and 25 μg/kg for milk powder. It was successfully used to detect residues of veterinary drug in real samples. This study proposes a simple and fast analytical method for monitoring multi-class veterinary drug residues to ensure food safety.

Recent Advances and Perspectives on the Sources and Detection of Antibiotics in Aquatic Environments

Water quality and safety are vital to the ecological environment, social development, and ecological susceptibility. The extensive use and continuous discharge of antibiotics have caused serious water pollution; antibiotics are widely found in freshwater, drinking water, and reservoirs; and this pollution has become a common phenomenon and challenge in global water ecosystems, as water polluted by antibiotics poses serious risks to human health and the ecological environment. Therefore, the antibiotic content in water should be identified, monitored, and eliminated. Nevertheless, there is no single method that can detect all different types of antibiotics, so various techniques are often combined to produce reliable results. This review summarizes the sources of antibiotic pollution in water, covering three main aspects: (1) wastewater discharges from domestic sewage, (2) medical wastewater, and (3) animal physiology and aquaculture. The existing analytical techniques, including extraction techniques, conventional detection methods, and biosensors, are reviewed. The electrochemical biosensors have become a research hotspot in recent years because of their rapid detection, high efficiency, and portability, and the use of nanoparticles contributes to these outstanding qualities. Additionally, the comprehensive quality evaluation of various detection methods, including the linear detection range, detection limit (LOD), and recovery rate, is discussed, and the future of this research field is also prospected.

PVA/Stevia/MIL-88A@AuNPs composite nanofibers as a novel sorbent for simultaneous extraction of eight agricultural pesticides in food and vegetable samples followed by HPLC-UV analysis

Herein, an electrospun composite from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and Stevia extract as a cross-linked nanofibrous was prepared with incorporating Fe-metal organic framework@Au nanoparticles (MIL-88A@AuNPs). The final composite was characterized, and then used as an efficient sorbent in pipette-tip micro solid-phase extraction (PT-µSPE) of eight selected pesticides in food samples followed by HPLC-UV analysis. Under the opted conditions, the linearity was in the range of 1.0-1000.0 ng mL^-1 for atrazine and ametryn, 3.0-1500.0 ng mL^-1 for tribenuron-methyl, metribuzin, profenofos and chlorpyrifos, 5.0 to 1500.0 ng mL^-1 for phosalone, and 5.0-2000.0 ng mL^-1 for malation with coefficient of determination (r²) ≥ 0.9943. The LODs (based on S/N = 3) ranged from 0.3 to 1.5 ng m L^-1. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were between 5.2% and 6.6% (intra-day, n = 5) and 5.9%-7.4% (inter-day, n = 3) for three consecutive days. Ultimately, the capability of the method in various food samples was appraised with good recoveries (79.3 to 97.6%).

The public health issue of antibiotic residues in food and feed: Causes, consequences, and potential solutions

Antibiotics are among the essential veterinary medicine compounds associated with animal feed and food animal production. The use of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial infections is almost unavoidable, with less need to demonstrate their importance. Although banned as a growth factor for a few years, their use in animals can add residues in foodstuffs, presenting several environmental, technological, animal health, and consumer health risks. With regard to human health risks, antibiotic residues induce and accelerate antibiotic resistance development, promote the transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to humans, cause allergies (penicillin), and induce other severe pathologies, such as cancers (sulfamethazine, oxytetracycline, and furazolidone), anaphylactic shock, nephropathy (gentamicin), bone marrow toxicity, mutagenic effects, and reproductive disorders (chloramphenicol). Antibiotic resistance, which has excessively increased over the years, is one of the adverse consequences of this phenomenon, constituting a severe public health issue, thus requiring the regulation of antibiotics in all areas, including animal breeding. This review discusses the common use of antibiotics in agriculture and antibiotic residues in food/feed. In-depth, we discussed the detection techniques of antibiotic residues, potential consequences on the environment and animal health, the technological transformation processes and impacts on consumer health, and recommendations to mitigate this situation.

Critical review of solid phase extraction for multiresidue clean-up and pre-concentration of antibiotics from livestock and poultry manure

The release of antibiotics into the environment from agricultural industries has received tremendous attention in recent years. Nonpoint source contamination of the terrestrial environment by these compounds can result from fertilisation of agricultural soils with manure. The presence of antibiotics and their metabolites in manure may pose a threat to agro-ecosystems. This may result in the emergence of antibiotic resistance bacteria in humans through the food chain and this is a major concern globally at the moment. Therefore, monitoring of manure for antibiotic residues is of vital importance in order to assess the risks of environmental pollution to human health by these drugs. Several sample pre-treatment techniques have been developed for the extraction of antibiotic residues from complex matrices including manure over the years. Despite new developments in recent years in separation science where the common trend is miniaturisation and green approaches, solid-phase extraction is still the most widely used technique in the extraction of antibiotics from agricultural wastes such as manure. In view of this, the aim of this review was to give a critical overview of studies that have been conducted in the past 6 years on the extraction of antibiotic residues from manure employing solid-phase extraction based on Oasis HLB and Strata-X. Adsorption mechanisms of these sorbents were also briefly discussed.

Antibiotic resistance in the pathogenic foodborne bacteria isolated from raw kebab and hamburger: phenotypic and genotypic study

Background

In recent years, interest in the consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) food products has been increased in many countries. However, RTE products particularly those prepared by meat may be potential vehicles of antibiotic-resistance foodborne pathogens. Considering kebab and hamburger are the most popular RTE meat products in Iran, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of common foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes) in raw kebab and hamburger samples collected from fast-food centers and restaurants. Therefore, total bacterial count (TBC), as well as the prevalence rates and antibiogram patterns of foodborne pathogens in the samples were investigated. Also, the presence of antibiotic-resistance genes (bla_SHV, bla_TEM,bla_Z, and mecA) was studied in the isolates by PCR.

Results

The mean value of TBC in raw kebab and hamburger samples was 6.72 ± 0.68 log CFU/g and 6.64 ± 0.66 log CFU/g, respectively. E. coli had the highest prevalence rate among the investigated pathogenic bacteria in kebab (70%) and hamburger samples (48%). Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes, and S. aureus were also recovered from 58, 50, and 36% of kebab samples, respectively. The contamination of hamburger samples was detected to S. aureus (22%), L. monocytogenes (22%), and Salmonella spp. (10%). In the antimicrobial susceptibility tests, all isolates exhibited high rates of antibiotic resistance, particularly against amoxicillin, penicillin, and cefalexin (79.66–100%). The bla_TEM was the most common resistant gene in the isolates of E. coli (52.54%) and Salmonella spp. (44.11%). Fourteen isolates (23.72%) of E. coli and 10 isolates (29.41%) of Salmonella spp. were positive for bla_SHV. Also, 16 isolates (55.17%) of S. aureus and 10 isolates (27.27%) of L. monocytogenes were positive for mecA gene.

Conclusions

The findings of this study showed that raw kebab and hamburger are potential carriers of antibiotic-resistance pathogenic bacteria, which can be a serious threat to public health.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-021-02326-8.

Facile Fabrication of Diatomite-Supported ZIF-8 Composite for Solid-Phase Extraction of Benzodiazepines in Urine Samples Prior to High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

A novel diatomite-supported zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 sorbent (ZIF-8@Dt-COOH) was in situ fabricated and developed for solid-phase extraction of three benzodiazepines (triazolam, midazolam and diazepam) in urine followed by high-performance liquid chromatography. ZIF-8@Dt-COOH was easily prepared by coating ZIF-8 on the surface of Dt-COOH and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra, X-ray powder diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Compared with bare Dt-COOH, the extraction efficiency of ZIF-8@Dt-COOH for the target was significantly increased from 20.1–39.0% to 100%. Main extraction parameters, including ionic strength and pH of solution, loading volume, washing solution, elution solvent and elution volume, were optimized in detail. Under optimum conditions, the developed method gave linearity of three BZDs in 2–500 ng/mL (r ≥ 0.9995). Limits of detection (S/N = 3), and limits of quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.3–0.4 ng/mL and 1.0–1.3 ng/mL, respectively. In addition, the average recoveries at three spiked levels (5, 10 and 20 ng/mL) varied from 80.0% to 98.7%, with the intra-day and inter-day precisions of 1.4–5.2% and 1.5–8.2%, respectively. The proposed method provided an effective purification performance and gave the enrichment factors of 24.0–29.6. The proposed method was successfully employed for the accurate and sensitive determination of benzodiazepines in urine.

Nanoplatform-Integrated Miniaturized Solid-Phase Extraction Techniques: A Critical Review

Preparation of the biological samples is one of the most critical steps in sample analysis. In past decades, the liquid-liquid extraction technique has been used to extract the desired analytes from complex biological matrices. However, solid-phase extraction (SPE) gained popularity due to versatility, simplicity, selectivity, reproducibility, high sample recovery %, solvent economy, and time-saving nature. The superior extraction efficiency of SPE can be attributed to the development of advanced techniques, including the nanosorbents technology. The nanosorbent technology significantly simplified the sample preparation, improved the selectivity, diversified the application, and accelerated the sample analysis. This review critically expands on the to-date advancements reported in SPE with particular regards to the nanosorbent technology.

The Role of Suspension Array Technology in Rapid Detection of Foodborne Pollutants: Applications and Future Challenges

Food safety is an important livelihood issue, which has always been focused attention by countries and governments all over the world. As food supply chains are becoming global, food quality control is essential for consumer protection as well as for the food industry. In recent years, a great part of food analysis is carried out using new techniques for rapid detection. As the first biochip technology that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is an increasing interest in suspension array technology (SAT) for food and environmental analysis with advantages of rapidity, high accuracy, sensitivity, and throughput. Therefore, it is important for researchers to understand the development and application of this technology in food industry. Herein, we summarized the principle and composition of SAT and its application in food safety monitoring. The utility of SAT in detection of foodborne microorganisms, residues of agricultural and veterinary drugs, genetically modified food and allergens in recent years is elaborated, and the further development direction of SAT is envisaged.