An electrochemical molecularly imprinted polymer sensor for rapid and selective food allergen detection

Food allergies are a serious and rising public health concern. The potentially fatal consequence of food allergies makes managing them costly and anxiety-inducing. Rapid, on-site detection of allergenic ingredients in foods would greatly improve the health and quality of life of food allergy sufferers. This work demonstrates the feasibility of such a device using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). The MIP sensor can detect allergenic soy markers at concentrations as low as 100 parts -per-billion, two orders of magnitude below clinically relevant thresholds, in both controlled and complex food samples. Sensor performance was qualitatively validated with commercially available soy allergen detection lateral flow devices (LFDs). The outcome of this application will address a long-standing analytical challenge to achieving fast, cost-effective, and scalable methods for direct detection of allergen tracers in food analysis.

Automated summary

Food allergies are a serious public health concern, and rapid detection of allergenic ingredients using molecularly imprinted polymers could greatly improve the quality of life for allergy sufferers. The MIP sensor demonstrated in this study is capable of detecting allergenic soy markers at concentrations as low as 100 parts-per-billion, providing a potential solution to the challenge of direct allergen detection in food analysis.