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Food Safety

Introduction

Quantum dots (QDs) are widely used in the field of food safety testing due to their good fluorescence characteristics and low biological toxicity. In recent years, fluorescence detection based on QDs has gradually developed into one of the most fast, simple, accurate, and low-cost food detection technology.

Food SafetyFigure 1. The food testing

Categories

According to the test item, common food tests are divided into the following categories:

  • Heavy Metal Ion

Heavy metal poisoning is one of the most common food poisoning, so it is very important to detect heavy metal ions in food for our health. Here, take the Cu2+ for example. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of Cu2+ can affect kidney and liver function. Based on the principle of fluorescence quenching of Cu2+ by QDs, QDs fluorescent probes can achieve rapid response to Cu2+ which are suitable for rapid detection and field testing.

  • Antibiotics

Due to the animal husbandry industry is overly dependent on antibiotics, antibiotics cannot be metabolized and remain in animal products which has become an important issue in the field of food safety. The hydrophilic groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl) on the surface of QDs provide the possibility for the binding of QDs to antibiotics. It has been proved that fluorescent probes based on QDs have been successfully applied to the rapid detection of antibiotics.

  • Pigment

In the modern food industry, synthetic pigments are widely used in various foods. Fluorescent probes based on QDs have been successfully applied to the detection of pigments due to they do not require sample pre-processing, simple operation, short time-consuming, and low cost. These advantages make up for the shortcomings of traditional detection methods and the detection methods are suitable for on-site rapid detection and trace detection.

What Can Alfa Chemistry Do?

Alfa Chemistry' technical R&D team has focused on the preparation and application of QDs for many years, which has established long-term cooperative relationships with many well-known enterprises and research institutions. We have conducted research on various problems encountered by food safety, which can select the appropriate solution according to the customer's experimental purpose. The food safety technologies we provide are as follows:

  • Food Testing

With advanced platforms and equipment, we can provide technologies to test heavy metal ions, pigments, antibiotics, pesticide residues, melamine, microorganisms and nitrites of food.

  • Custom Solution

We have a professional team with rich experience, and can quickly customize reliable solutions according to customer needs.

Please kindly note that our products and services are for research use only.