Application of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip for the detection of mycotoxins in foods

Background: Various foods are susceptible to contamination and adulteration with mycotoxins, presenting serious health risks to humans. Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices could integrate and miniaturize versatile functions from sample preparation to detection, showing great potential in rapid, accurate, and high-throughput detection of mycotoxins. Scope and approach: This review focuses on the application of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip platforms to detect mycotoxins in foods. Fabrication processes and major components of microfluidic devices, as well as separation and detection methods integrated with lab-on-a-chip systems are summarized and discussed. Finally, challenges and future research directions in the development of microfluidic devices to detect mycotoxins are highlighted. Key findings and conclusions: Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices have a great potential for accurate and high-throughput detection of mycotoxins in agricultural and food products. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.