A three-in-one versatile sensor for concise detecting biogenic amines and beef freshness.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Materials Science

Background:

• Biogenic amines (BAs) are critical indicators of food spoilage and pose food safety risks.
• Current detection methods for BAs often lack simplicity, sensitivity, or selectivity.
• Developing rapid and reliable BA detection is crucial for food safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, highly sensitive, and selective sensor for detecting biogenic amines (BAs).
• To enable convenient, real-time monitoring of food spoilage using multimodal responses.
• To create a portable detection system for on-site food freshness assessment.

Main Methods:

• A three-in-one sensor, 3,6-bis(dimethylamino)-9-(ethylthio)xanthylium (PSE), was synthesized.
• The sensor exhibits multimodal responses: olfactory, colorimetric, and fluorescent.
• PSE-loaded paper test strips were fabricated for portable vapor detection.

Main Results:

• The PSE sensor demonstrated high sensitivity and selectivity for BAs with a low detection limit (0.03 μM).
• Nucleophilic substitution reactions between PSE and BAs triggered rapid multi-responses.
• PSE-loaded paper strips accurately determined BAs levels via RGB color analysis.

Conclusions:

• The developed PSE sensor provides a simple, sensitive, and selective method for real-time BA detection.
• Portable PSE test strips enable non-destructive assessment of meat freshness using smartphone technology.
• This approach significantly advances on-site food safety monitoring.