For those with allergic reactions to certain foods, cross-contamination or accidental mislabeling can lead to reactions ranging from annoying to life-threatening. To address this health need, researchers at Harvard Medical School have made a device that can quickly, inexpensively, and accurately detect common food antigens.
The integrated exogenous antigen testing, cleverly abbreviated iEAT, was developed to detect five common antigens, including those in peanuts, hazelnuts, wheat, milk, and egg whites. The device consists of three components: a small tube-like extraction kit, a disposable electrode chip, and a keychain-sized reader. A food particle is placed into the extraction kit, where antigens bind to corresponding antibodies attached to magnetic beads. The bead-antibody-antigen complexes are then placed on the electrode chip. A series of reduction-oxidation reactions create a measurable current, which can be analyzed when the electrode is slotted into the reader. Results can then be uploaded to a cloud server for easy smartphone access. Impressively, the extraction-to-detection process takes less than 10 minutes.
Impressively, the iEAT can detect antigen concentrations far below regulatory standards. It detected gluten concentrations as low as 0.1 parts per million, much lower than the FDA’s 20 parts per million maximum for “gluten-free” foods. This could be very useful for people who are highly sensitive and during testing the researchers found gluten protein in salad and egg protein in beer that they sampled.
The researchers hope that iEAT can be expanded to include other allergens or non-food allergens, and that its convenience and accuracy could also benefit food companies and regulators.
Study in ACS Nano: Integrated Magneto-Chemical Sensor For On-Site Food Allergen Detection…
Via: ACS…