Application of Chemosensing in Food Safety Monitoring - A Chemodosimeter in Polymer Films for the Selective Detection of Biogenic Amine Odorants (ITC/ITF)

Public concerns over food safety are rapidly growing. Consumers want to be assured of the safety of food products that they are buying. A small, reliable and low-cost “detector” that goes together with pre-packaged food products to demonstrate their safety in an eye-catching way is highly desirable. Rotting of meats and vegetables generates amines such as histamine, spermidine, putrescine, and trimethylamine. These biogenic amines are, therefore, key markers for food quality. At present, chromatographic determination is the most commonly adopted analytical approach for their detection. However, procedures involved are tedious and time-consuming. Problems are usually being identified after contaminated / rotten food items have already been sold or even consumed. Chemosensing is the detection of specific analytes by specially designed molecular sensors. In this project, we will develop a series of cyano-bridged iron(II)-lanthanide(III) based complexes and poly-siloxane materials for the chemosensing of biogenic amines in the head-space of pre-packaged food products. We have already obtained very promising preliminary results. These chemosensors will open up a new way for the monitoring of food safety in pre-packaged food products.

Funding Source: HKSAR Govt - Innovative and Technology Fund (ITF)