Design and Commercialization of Gold Nanoparticle-based Immunochromatographic Digital Multi-color Strips to Detect Mycotoxins in Food Samples

Mycotoxins, produced by fungi, are toxic substances that can cause serious health issues in humans and animals, including illnesses and fatalities. These toxins are often found in nuts or grains stored in conditions conducive to fungal growth, such as hot, humid, and dark environments. There is a high demand in the food industry for rapid, simple, and cost-effective methods to detect mycotoxins.

The project, TRILOGY, investigated an innovative detection solution involving:

- An immunochromatographic strip test (ICST)

- A smartphone application (APP)

- A data analysis system

The ICST used gold nanoparticles conjugated with antibodies to display different colors, visible to the naked eye, on test lines. After applying food extract to the strip, users could determine results within ten minutes. For quantitative analysis, users uploaded photos of the test lines to the smartphone app, which converted the colors into concentration values.

The results from this digital ICST were compared to conventional techniques like high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The study also identified time thresholds in risk assessments to provide quantitative data for human health.

Additionally, the commercial potential of the digital multi-color strip assay was explored in collaboration with academic and industry mentors.