Biosensors for the determination of phenolic metabolites

Nowadays, functional foods represent one of the most promising areas in the food industry. One example of the components that are added to foods to render them functional is phenolic metabolites (Caleja, et al., Curr. Pharm. Des., 2017). The importance of these chemicals in nutritional quality makes the development of accurate, versatile, and rapid analytical tools (i.e., biosensors) necessary to not only detect and quantify their presence in many foodstuffs but also assess the antioxidant efficacy of phenolic compounds. For example, these analytical tools can be used to evaluate the process parameters on the quality of the phenolic compounds extracted by using green extraction procedures (e.g., supercritical fluid, microwaves, ultrasounds) from waste materials (Panzella, et al., Front. Nutr. 2020- Roselló-Soto et al., E Food Res. Int., 2020).

The research will involve different activities:

• Evaluation of the key performance indicators in analysis of the phenolic metabolites for innovative foods towards interaction with partners of the project.
• Definition of the sensor's target parameters, such as resolution, and accuracy needed for the quantification of the total phenol content and the assessment of the antioxidant capacity.
• Design of the electrochemical platforms for the detection of the total phenol content and the antioxidant capacity through a quality-by-design approach, which will involve the definition of the optimum geometry, electrode material and bio-recognition elements. 
• Lab-scale characterization of the biosensors, through the performance of chronoamperometry, selectivity and time stability tests.
• Improvement of the platform to meet the portability requirements (with the use of a portable readout system).
• Validation of the platform by testing phenolic compounds extracted from green techniques.

Use of the developed biosensing techniques for the determination of the phenolic metabolites in different food categories. The proposed activities aim to enhance analytical capabilities applicable to different food categories for the optimization of innovative and green technological food processes.