Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:48:0
AHN Staff
Hamilton, Ontario (AHN) - A researcher from the McMaster University has developed a dipstick that could test pesticide content - even in trace amount - in food and beverage. Among the fatal bacteria the strip tests are capable of detecting are E. coli, listeria or salmonella.
Although Canadian food is generally considered safe since it uses only pesticide that had passed the standards of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the country has not been spared of food contamination like the listeria outbreak that hit Maple Leaf Foods last year.
Another potential use of the test, developed by McMaster researcher John Brennan and his team, is to use it on imported food from countries which use pesticides not allowed in Canada.
The test strips could yield results in less than five minutes without a need for costly test equipment and power. Brennan used an ink similar to those used by computer printer cartridges, but with additives that makes the ink biocompatible. The ink with biocompatible silica nanoparticles are deposited on paper, then followed by a second ink with enzyme.
It forms a thin film of enzyme trapped in the silica on paper, which when exposed to toxin, the molecules in the ink would change color depending on the concentration of the toxin in the sample. It works like a home pregnancy test.
Brennan's paper was initially published in the July 1 issue of Analytical Chemistry and came out in the Nov. 1 issues of the American Chemical Society's Analytical Chemistry journal.
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