T E S T I N G PAPER-THIN Detecting food and cosmetic spoilage and contamination… identifying new medicinal plants in a remote jungle…authenticating tea and wine. Scientists have developed a low-cost, portable, paper-based sensor that can potentially carry out all of these functions with easy-to-read results. I’ve always been interested in developing technologies that are accessible to both industry and the general population,” Clarkson University researcher Silvana Andreescu says. “My lab has built a versatile sensing platform that incorporates all the needed reagents for detection in a piece of paper. At the same time, it is adaptable to different targets, including food contaminants, antioxidants and free radicals that indicate spoilage.” What sets her sensors apart are the nanostructures they use to catch and bind to compounds they’re looking for. “Most people working on similar sensors use solutions that migrate on channels,” Andreescu says. “We use stable, inorganic particles that are redox active. When they interact with the substances we want to detect, they change colour, and the intensity of the change tells us how concentrated the analyte is.” Because all of the reagents needed to operate the device are incorporated in the paper, users don’t need to add anything other than the sample being tested.The potential applications are wide-ranging, Andreescu says. Much of her sensor work thus far has focused on detecting antioxidants in tea and wine which have unique antioxidant ‘fingerprints’ 32 OCTOBER 2017 used for authentication purposes. The portable sensor could also be used by researchers exploring remote locations, such as the Amazon rainforest, in search of natural sources of antioxidants. More recently, her team rooted out food contamination and environmental pollutants, with one sensor prototype able to spot ochratoxin A, a fungal toxin commonly found in a range of products, including cereals and coffee. She says this direction could be expanded further to look for salmonella and E. coli. The researchers are now developing paper-based devices that change colour as cosmetics and food go bad. These sensors bind to the reactive oxygen species that products accumulate as they age and eventually spoil. Although testing for this application is still ongoing, Andreescu says this technology could one day be incorporated into smart labels that would tell consumers when to throw a product out. “ Our mission is to become the laboratory of choice for Testing and Auditing Services in the following segments: Our is to become the laboratory of choice for Testing and Auditing Services in the following segments: > Food Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry > Water & Environmental Analysis > Food Forensics Investigations > Nutritional Testing > Residue Analysis > Food & Supply Chain Consulting > Food Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry > Nutritional Testing > Water & Environmental Analysis > Residue Analysis > Food Forensics Investigations > Food & Supply Chain Consulting > Pharmaceutical Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry > Regulatory & Third Party Food Safety Compliance Auditing > Food Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry > Water & Environmental Analysis > Food Forensics Investigations > Nutritional Testing > Residue Analysis > Food & Supply Chain Consulting > Pharmaceutical Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry > Regulatory & Third Party Food Safety Compliance Auditing > Pharmaceutical Testing – Microbiological & Chemistry > Regulatory & Third Party Food Safety Compliance Auditing Totally Independent – Truly Global info@eurofins.co.nz | www.eurofins.co.nz Totally Independent – Truly Global info@eurofins.co.nz | www.eurofins.co.nz Freephone: 0800 EUROFINS | 0800 387 63467 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH Freephone:| 0800 387 63467 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH Totally Independent – Truly Global info@eurofins.co.nz | www.eurofins.co.nz Freephone: 0800 EUROFINS | 0800 387 63467 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH FT199
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