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Monitoring food spoilage biogenic amines utilizing a blue-emitting fluorescent ionic liquid
Najmin Tohora1, Biswajit Bhaumik1, Rajkumar Sahoo2
1Department of Chemistry, University of North Bengal, Raja Rammohunpur, Darjeeling, West Bengal-734013, India. sudhirkumardas@nbu.ac.in.
The Analyst
|July 2, 2026
Summary
A novel fluorescent ionic liquid, TPND, and its material nTPND, detect biogenic amines like spermine (SPM) and spermidine (SPD). This offers a sustainable method for food safety and environmental monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Analytical Chemistry
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Biogenic amines (BAs) like spermine (SPM) and spermidine (SPD) are crucial for physiological processes.
- Accurate and rapid detection methods for BAs are essential for health and safety.
- Existing assays for BAs can be complex and costly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, sustainable fluorescent probe for detecting specific biogenic amines.
- To characterize the optical properties of the developed ionic liquid and its material.
- To assess the probe's efficacy in real-world food safety applications.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis and characterization of a novel room-temperature ionic liquid, trihexyltetradecylphosphonium 2-(naphthalen-1-yl)-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazolate (TPND).
- Preparation and characterization of a low-dimensional material (nTPND) derived from TPND.
- Spectroscopic and fluorometric analysis of TPND and nTPND response to biogenic amines (SPM, SPD).
- Testing the probe's performance on real food samples (mushrooms).
Main Results:
- TPND and nTPND exhibit distinct fluorescence changes (blue to green, cyan to green) upon exposure to SPM and SPD.
- nTPND demonstrates high specificity and selectivity for SPM and SPD with low limits of detection (LODs) via spectrophotometry and fluorometry.
- The probe successfully detected biogenic amine vapors released from stored mushroom samples, indicating practical applicability.
Conclusions:
- TPND and its material nTPND represent a novel class of ionic liquid-based fluorescent probes for biogenic amine detection.
- The developed probe offers a fast, simple, and potentially affordable method for monitoring food safety and environmental contaminants.
- This work highlights a new approach for designing sustainable optical materials for advanced sensing applications.
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