Detection and discrimination of antibiotics in food samples using a microfluidic paper-based optical tongue

Antibiotics are used largely in agriculture and animal farming. As a result, antibiotic residues are found in food products as well as pharmaceutical industries and farming wastes. Since consumption of food products contaminated with antibiotic in excessive residuals causes severe environmental risks, our study here aims to detect the residues level of selected antibiotics in milk and egg. For monitoring of the antibiotic residues in various food diaries, low-cost, simple and rapid methods are required. This paper reports fabricating a disposable microfluidic paper-based analytical device for detection and discrimination of 8 antibiotics. This small but efficient device works based on combination of paper microfluidics, sensor array concept (an array of metallochromic complexes, which provides an optical tongue, and chemometrics data analysis. The discrimination is based on differential interaction of the antibiotics with 5 metal-indicator complexes and displacing the chromogenic indicators. This resulted in specific color changes for each antibiotic. The discriminant models obtained by employing linear discriminant analysis could discriminate antibiotics in real samples of milk and egg white and yolk at concentrations of as low as 5.0 mg L−1 with 100% accuracy. Also, semi-quantitative analysis was provided to detect trace amounts of the antibiotics (1.0 mg L−1). [Display omitted] •A μPAD in an array format of metallochromic complexes to provide an opto-electronic tongue.•The discrimination is based on differential interaction of the antibiotics with 5 metal-indicator complexes.•The μPAD results in specific color changes (colorimetric signature) for each antibiotic.•LDA could discriminate antibiotics in real samples of milk and egg white and yolk.