Simultaneous derivatization and liquid-solid phase transition microextraction of six biogenic amines in foods followed by narrowbore liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection

New insights into the toxicological effects of dietary biogenic amines

Biogenic amines (BA) are molecules with biological functions, which can accumulate at toxic concentrations in foods. Several microorganisms have been identified as responsible for their accumulation at elevated concentrations. Histamine, tyramine and putrescine are the BA most commonly found at highest concentrations. The ingestion of food containing high BA concentrations leads to intoxication with symptoms depending on the BA and the amount consumed. Moreover, there is evidence of synergy between different BA, something of toxicological importance given that some foods accumulate different BA. This work reviews the BA toxic effects and examines recent discoveries regarding their synergy, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. These advances in the toxicological consequences of ingesting BA contaminated foods support the need to regulate their presence in foods to preserve the consumer's health. However, more research efforts -focused on the establishment of risk assessments- are needed to reach a consensus in their limits in different food matrices.

Silver metallization-triggered liposome-embedded AIE fluorophore for dual-mode detection of biogenic amines to fight food freshness fraud

To combat food freshness fraud, it is urgent to develop a method which could realize the detection of biogenic amines (BAs) present in food. In our study, we developed a colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescence dual-mode sensor which integrated with silver metallization-based response system of AIE liposome + OPD + RSM + Ag+ toward BAs in foods for fighting freshness fraud. With the hydrolysis from the alkaline of BAs to resorcinol monoacetate (RSM), the production resorcinol (RS) could metallize silver ion (Ag+) to silver atoms (Ag0) which could lead to a BAs concentration-dependent decrease of the oxidation product 2,3-diaminophenothiazine (DAP) of Ag+ to o-phenylenediamine (OPD). As a result, the dual-mode sensor has a low detection limit and wide linear range in the spiked detection of soy products, pork and milk samples for BAs. Thus, providing a reliable method for food safety and forestalling food freshness fraud.

Deep learning-assisted smartphone-based portable and visual ratiometric fluorescence device integrated intelligent gel label for agro-food freshness detection

Here, a smartphone-assisted dual-color ratiometric fluorescence smart gel label-based visual sensing platform was constructed for real-time evaluation of the freshness of agro-food based on the biogenic amines responses. Green-emission fluorescence carbon dots (CDs) coupled with blue-emission fluorescence bimetallic metal-organic framework (Fe/Zr-MOF) obtained dual-color CDs@Fe/Zr-MOF fluorescence nanoprobe acts as the response units. With the increase of SP and HIS content, the green fluorescence of CDs was enhanced, while the blue fluorescence of Fe/Zr-MOF was quenched. Therefore, this dual-color probe achieved a clear fluorescence color response to biogenic amines. The nanoprobe possessed sensitive and color-responsive with the LODs of 0.17 μM for SP and 2.95 μM for HIS in a wide range of 0-937.5 µM, respectively. Besides, these fluorescent nanoprobes were immobilized on the hydrogel carrier, and the intelligent fluorescent hydrogel tag can be obtained after freeze-drying, which realizes the real-time qualitative monitoring of SP and HIS in pork and shrimp samples.

Ratiometric SERS aptasensing for simultaneous quantitative detection of histamine and tyramine in fishes

Herein, a SiO₂@Ag NPs core/shell nanoparticles were synthesized to fabricate a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensor for the simultaneous determination of histamine (HIS) and tyramine (TYR) based on specific aptamer recognition and ratiometric strategy. SiO₂@Ag NPs with 4-thiosaminophenol (4-ATP) and Nile blue A (NBA) molecules were used as an internal standard (IS) and labeled with aptamers corresponding to HIS and TYR, respectively. Raman reporter molecules ROX and Cy5 labeled complementary DNA (cDNA) were then hybridized with aptamers to form rigid double-stranded DNA. After the HIS and TYR were captured by their aptamers, resulting in the dissociation of cDNA and separated from the SERS substrate. Therefore, the SERS signal intensity at 1503 cm^-1 of ROX and 1358 cm^-1 of Cy5 tagged on the terminal of cDNA decreased with the concentration of HIS and TYR increasing, while the SERS signal intensity at 1079 cm^-1 of 4-APT and 592 cm^-1 of NBA on the substrate remain stable. Thus, the concentrations of HIS and TYR can be determined by the I₁₅₀₃/I₁₀₇₉ and I₁₃₅₈/I₅₉₂ values, respectively. This sensing strategy achieves a lower detection limit of 0.2 ng/mL for HIS and 0.05 ng/mL for TYR, respectively, demonstrating promising applications in sensitive detection of BAs in animal-derived foodstuff.

The Development of an Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Biogenic Amines in Fish Samples

Biogenic amines (BAs) are a group of substances that are formed from amino acids by decarboxylation or amination and transamination of aldehydes and ketones. They may have either an aliphatic, aromatic, or heterocyclic structure. Their quantity determines their effects and optimum amounts are essential for physiological functions, but excess BAs causes various toxic effects throughout the human body. In our study, to rapidly determine 14 BAs (histamine, tyramine, dopamine, tryptamine, serotonin, putrescine, spermine, spermidine, octopamine, benzylamine, 1-Phenylethanamine, cadaverine, 2-Phenethylamine, and agmatine) in real fish samples, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was established. The fish sample was extracted by acetonitrile with 0.1% formic acid and stable biogenic amine derivatives could be obtained by benzoyl chloride derivatization with a shorter reaction time. The method showed good linearity with a linear range of 3-4 orders of magnitude and regression coefficients ranging from 0.9961 to 0.9999. The calculated LODs ranged from 0.1 to 20 nM and the LOQs ranged from 0.3 to 60 nM. Satisfactory recovery was obtained from 84.6% to 119.3%. The proposed method was employed to determine the concentration levels of biogenic amine derivatives in different fish. The results indicated that this method was suitable for the analysis of biogenic amines.