Smartphone-Based Electrochemical Biosensor for On-Site Nutritional Quality Assessment of Coffee Blends

Cristine D’Agostino; Claudia Chillocci; Francesca Polli; Luca Surace; Federica Simonetti; Marco Agostini; Sergio Brutti; Franco Mazzei; Gabriele Favero; Rosaceleste Zumpano

doi:10.3390/molecules28145425

Molecules (Jul 2023)

Smartphone-Based Electrochemical Biosensor for On-Site Nutritional Quality Assessment of Coffee Blends

Cristine D’Agostino,
Claudia Chillocci,
Francesca Polli,
Luca Surace,
Federica Simonetti,
Marco Agostini,
Sergio Brutti,
Franco Mazzei,
Gabriele Favero,
Rosaceleste Zumpano

Affiliations

Cristine D’Agostino: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Claudia Chillocci: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Francesca Polli: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Luca Surace: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Federica Simonetti: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Marco Agostini: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Sergio Brutti: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Franco Mazzei: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Gabriele Favero: Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Rosaceleste Zumpano: Department of Chemistry and Drug Technologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28145425
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 28, no. 14
p. 5425

Abstract

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This work aimed to develop an easy-to-use smartphone-based electrochemical biosensor to quickly assess a coffee blend’s total polyphenols (Phs) content at the industrial and individual levels. The device is based on a commercial carbon-based screen-printed electrode (SPE) modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and gold nanoparticles (GNPs). At the same time, the biological recognition element, Laccase from Trametes versicolor, TvLac, was immobilized on the sensor surface by using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a cross-linking agent. The platform was electrochemically characterized to ascertain the influence of the SPE surface modification on its performance. The working electrode (WE) surface morphology characterization was obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) imaging. All the measurements were carried out with a micro-potentiostat, the Sensit Smart by PalmSens, connected to a smartphone. The developed biosensor provided a sensitivity of 0.12 μA/μM, a linear response ranging from 5 to 70 μM, and a lower detection limit (LOD) of 2.99 μM. Afterward, the biosensor was tested for quantifying the total Phs content in coffee blends, evaluating the influence of both the variety and the roasting degree. The smartphone-based electrochemical biosensor’s performance was validated through the Folin–Ciocâlteu standard method.

Published in Molecules

ISSN: 1420-3049 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

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