A General Strategy for Food Traceability and Authentication Based on Assembly-Tunable Fluorescence Sensor Arrays

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Food Science

Background:

• Current food traceability and authentication methods are often specific to certain food types.
• A universal approach is needed to ensure safety and quality across diverse food categories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a general strategy for food identification and discrimination using fluorescence sensor arrays.
• To create a novel method for universal food traceability and authentication.

Main Methods:

• Designed and prepared five sensor arrays using supramolecular assemblies (pyrene and perylene derivatives).
• Investigated assembly behavior and sensing mechanisms via spectroscopy.
• Applied linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to evaluate traceability and authentication performance.

Main Results:

• Supramolecular assemblies demonstrated stimuli-responsiveness and tunability for interacting with diverse food molecules.
• Cross-reactive signals generated unique fingerprint patterns for each food.
• Achieved 100% accuracy in traceability and authentication for universal food categories.

Conclusions:

• The proposed fluorescence sensor array system offers a robust platform for food traceability and authentication.
• This method provides a universal solution applicable to various food categories, enhancing food safety and quality assurance.