Emerging electrochemical biosensing approaches for detection of allergen in food samples: A review.

The incidence of food allergy has increased with the continuous improvement of the standard of living. Food allergy has progressed to a major food safety concern. At present, there is few effective diagnostic/biosensing methods for food allergy. The accurate and rapid detection of allergens is still a technical bottleneck in the field of food safety detection. The emergence of electrochemical biosensors provides interesting tools for food allergen detection. This article primarily aim to discuss in recent 10 years the progress of electrochemical biosensors based on diverse biomolecules (antibodies, nucleic acid, cell) for food allergen detection. The construction techniques (immobilization and signal amplification strategy), the use of nanomaterials for biosensors, the sensing principle, sensor performance is covered in detail. The major limitations of each sensing types are also presented. The development of novel surface modifications, nanotechnologies, and preparation technologies provides the most valuable possibilities for the design of electrochemical biosensor platforms with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. The organic combination of these nanomaterials and biosensors also broadens the design ideas of electrochemical biosensor to a great extent. Although, remaining challenges need to be overcome, electrochemical biosensor as a novel interesting detection technique shows great potential along the years in practical applications of food allergens. Magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles can be used for cell adsorption on a magnetic GCE, which can keep cells in direct contact with the transduction interface and improve adhesion and sensitivity. Jiang, Jiang, Sun, and Zhang (2015) encapsulated Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with a SiO 2 shell, and the synthesized fluorescent magnetic beads were encapsulated in liposomes to form cationic magnetic fluorescent nanoparticles for magnetic transfection of mast cells and electrochemical detection. The results showed that the detection accuracies of these targets were 0.03 μg mL−1 (shrimp allergen Pen a 1) and 0.16 ng/mL (fish allergen PV). The Fe 3 O 4 /SiO 2 modified cell-based biosensor, which involves a simple construction process, is a sensitive and innovative biosensor for evaluating food allergens. • Recent advances of electrochemical biosensors for food allergen detection are reviewed. • The combination of nanomaterials and biosensors is presented. • Advantages and limitations of each sensing type and enhancing sensitivity of biosensors were discussed. • The emergence of electrochemical biosensors provides powerful tools for detecting food allergens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]