Simple detection of gluten in wheat-containing food samples of celiac diets with a novel fluorescent nanosensor made of folic acid-based carbon dots through molecularly imprinted technique

• Published in: Food chemistry 2023-06, Vol.410, p.135383, Article 135383
• Main Authors: Karamdoust, Sanaz, Milani-Hosseini, Mohammad-Reza, Faridbod, Farnoush
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bread samples; Carbon - chemistry; Celiac Disease; Diet; Fluorescent detection; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; Folic acid carbon dots; Food Hypersensitivity; Gluten; Glutens - analysis; Humans; Molecularly imprinted polymer; Nanosensor; Triticum
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.135383

•A new approach is introduced for the sensitive detection of gluten in wheat-containing foods.•Bread samples for the celiac diet are analyzed by a new nanosensor.•The optical nanosensor is made of folic acid carbon dots embedded in molecularly imprinted silicate polymers. A nanosensor is designed for rapid detection of the gluten content of wheat-containing samples. Gluten is a plant protein that causes allergy in individuals and leads to celiac disease. Since in a celiac diet trace amounts of gluten are able to prompt allergic reactions, a food-allergen label must be provided on foodstuffs and be seriously considered by food industries. Various analytical methods and commercial immunoassays are used for such analyses but prices per test, especially for low-income countries are high. Thus, a rapid, sensitive, simple, and inexpensive detecting tool seems essential. A solution can be designing a gluten optical nanosensor. The nanosensor is made of folic-acid-carbon dots and gluten molecularly templates embedded simultaneously in a silicate matrix. Adding gluten to the solution of this nanostructure and its adsorbing on the blank templated space on the nanostructure causes fluorescence enhancement. The concentration range of gluten detection was 0.36 to 2.20 µM.