Affiliation:
1. School of Food Science and Engineering South China University of Technology Guangzhou China
2. Academy of Contemporary Food Engineering South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre Guangzhou China
3. Engineering and Technological Research Centre of Guangdong Province on Intelligent Sensing and Process Control of Cold Chain Foods, & Guangdong Province Engineering Laboratory for Intelligent Cold Chain Logistics Equipment for Agricultural Products Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre Guangzhou China
4. State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices Center for Aggregation‐Induced Emission, South China University of Technology Guangzhou China
5. Food Refrigeration and Computerized Food Technology (FRCFT) Agriculture and Food Science Centre, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Belfield Dublin 4 Ireland
Abstract
AbstractAggregates often exhibit modified or completely new properties compared with their molecular elements, making them an extraordinarily advantageous form of materials. The fluorescence signal change characteristics resulting from molecular aggregation endow aggregates with high sensitivity and broad applicability. In molecular aggregates, the photoluminescence properties at the molecular level can be annihilated or elevated, leading to aggregation‐causing quenching (ACQ) or aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) effects. This change in photoluminescence properties can be intelligently introduced in food hazard detection. Recognition units can combine with the aggregate‐based sensor by joining the aggregation process, endowing the sensor with the high specificity of analytes (such as mycotoxins, pathogens, and complex organic molecules). In this review, aggregation mechanisms, structural characteristics of fluorescent materials (including ACQ/AIE‐activated), and their applications in food hazard detection (with/without recognition units) are summarized. Because the design of aggregate‐based sensors may be influenced by the properties of their components, the sensing mechanisms of different fluorescent materials were described separately. Details of fluorescent materials, including conventional organic dyes, carbon nanomaterials, quantum dots, polymers and polymer‐based nanostructures and metal nanoclusters, and recognition units, such as aptamer, antibody, molecular imprinting, and host–guest recognition, are discussed. In addition, future trends of developing aggregate‐based fluorescence sensing technology in monitoring food hazards are also proposed.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China