Nanosensors Identify Pathogens in Food

摘要

The detection of pathogenic organisms in food, as well as in other application areas such as biosafety, biosecurity, and clinical diagnostics, is of great importance to ensure our well-being. Many challenges have to be overcome to develop sensors thatcould be used by the consumer and first responder to quickly determine the identity and quantity of pathogens in a food sample in a simple, inexpensive, and sensitive manner. These challenges are caused by the combination of characteristics sought and the complexity of food matrices. In general, current technology can provide all of the data necessary to ensure the safety of our food, if neither time nor cost were a concern. For example, standard microbiological assays can provide the ultimate sensitivity and identify the presence of a single cell in a given food sample. However, these assays suffer from long incubation steps and therefore provide results only after 24-48 hr or even longer. They also suffer from relatively complex procedures that require handling by trained technicians in a laboratory setting.