Detect and measure allergens in food simply and quickly

They have developed a test strip that makes it possible to quickly and easily detect and quantify allergens in food.

The achievement is the work of a team of specialists from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), the University of Valencia (UV) and the Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), in Spain.

These scientists have developed a test strip prototype that identifies and quantifies the level of allergens in food in a reliable, simple, portable, fast and very cheap way, with the help of a mobile phone.

“Food allergy or hypersensitivity is estimated to currently affect about 520 million people worldwide. These reactions occur mainly from the consumption of foods that contain trace amounts of allergens. Therefore, identifying and quantifying them before the food is consumed is essential and this is what the test we have developed allows”, points out Sergi Morais, professor in the Department of Chemistry at the UPV and researcher at the Interuniversity Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development. (IDM).

The prototype has been developed as a proof of concept for the simultaneous detection of almond and peanut allergens, and has been validated with everyday commercial foods, such as cookies and energy bars.

Among its advantages, the researchers highlight the reliability of the test, which contains multiple internal controls and calibrators integrated into a miniaturized 36-point matrix. “With microarray technology, we performed 36 assays in a single step. The derived information allows us to identify in situ if the result obtained is a true positive or negative. In addition, with the internal calibrators and the mobile phone we can quantify traces of allergens in the food with high precision”, points out Ángel Maquieira, professor at the Department of Chemistry at the UPV.

As regards the extraction method, the team from the UPV, the UV and the CIBERER highlighted its simplicity, which is why it can be carried out by anyone, at any time.

“Current extraction methods consist of multiple stages and require sophisticated equipment for grinding, defatting, extraction and purification of allergens. Therefore, the analysis is carried out in qualified laboratories. The objective is to decentralize the analysis, as has been done with the COVID-19 test. We want anyone to be able to analyze a food just before consuming it”, adds Sergi Morais.

The new test strip allows the detection and measurement of allergens in food simply and quickly. (Photo: UPV)

The new extraction method is based on the use of a portable “grinder”, with which the sample is crushed and filtered in a single step; then 5 milliliters of a solution to extract the allergen are added and, once the sample is prepared, the test strip is immersed in the solution. And in just 5 minutes the result is obtained, which can be read with a mobile phone.

“Estimating a cost of 1 euro per strip, the developed test has great commercial potential, for example, in the food sector for the rapid identification of allergens in situ and in the pharmaceutical sector to quantify the potency of the allergen extracts used in the tests. of allergy”, highlights Amadeo Sena, a postdoctoral researcher at the Interuniversity Institute for Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM).

Looking to the future, the UPV, UV and CIBERER team points out that, taking into account the characteristics of the test strip, it could be easily adapted for other allergens, since the group has specific antibodies for a wide range of allergens and biomarkers. “Our challenge is to develop a test for the simultaneous quantification of the 14 allergens that must be declared according to Royal Decree 126/2015”, concludes Patricia Casino, a researcher at the University Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BIOTECMED) of the University of Valencia and CIBERER. .

The study is titled “Lateral Flow Microimmunoassay (LFµIA) for the Reliable Quantification of Allergen Traces in Food Consumables”. And it has been published in the academic journal Biosensors. (Source: UPV)