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- Authenticating honey origin from Natural Park of Montesinho: innovative electrochemical genosensor devices assembled in paper-based transducersPublication . Pereira, Eduarda; Morais, Stephanie L.; Seguro, Isabel; Silva, Nádia F. D.; Santos, Marlene; Pacheco, João G.; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Barroso, M. FátimaThe Natural Park of Montesinho (NPM) has a diverse ecosystem that is home to countless species of trees and plants characteristic of this area, including Castanea sativa. The honey produced in this region is highly appreciated for its taste and nutritional value, but it also has a wide range of health benefits. The geographical origin of the honey is a very important aspect in assessing the quality and authentication of the final product. Currently, several approaches are being explored to determinethese parameters, among which deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based methods stand out.
- Plant honey origin authentication: Use of electrochemical genosensors for food safety and quality controlPublication . Morais, Stephanie; Pereira, Eduarda; Castanheira, Michelle; Santos, Marlene; Domingues, Valentina; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Barroso, M. FátimaHoney is a natural high-quality food product consumed worldwide due to its diverse nutritional profile and beneficial medical properties. These factors, along with honey’s unique sweet taste and odour, make it one of the most popular products for a healthy diet. Nevertheless, food fraud is an increasing problem with various impacts on the economy, health, and in the environment, as honey prices are established based on its botanical origin and nutritional composition. In the European Union, honey is one of the most adulterated products found in the market. Mislabeling of a honey’s geographic origin and unethical mixing with low-grade honeys, sugars, and other substances are some of the common fraudulent practices. Hence, it is imperative to develop analytical tools to quickly, cheaply, and successfully identify fraudulent products. In this work, an electrochemical genosensor for the detection of two different plant species, Calluna vulgaris (the heather flower) and Castanea sativa (the chestnut tree), was developed and optimized. Analyzing public database platforms, a 98 base pair DNA target probe for Calluna vulgaris and a 103 base pair DNA target probe for Castanea sativa were selected and designed. The developed genosensor resulted from a linear self-assembled monolayer of the DNA capture probe of each respective species immobilized onto screen-printed gold electrodes and mercaptohexanol. To improve the genosensor’s selectivity and avoid strong secondary structures, a sandwich format for both DNA target probes was designed using a complementary fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled DNA signaling probe. Chronoamperometry measurements were performed in a 0.13 to 2.00 nM range for both species. The developed genosensor was able to detect the hybridization reaction between the synthetic strands of each plant. Therefore, electrochemical genosensors offer a promising and cost-effective analytical tool to authenticate the botanical origin of honey, guaranteeing honey safety, quality control, and authenticity for both industries and consumers and showing potential for application in combatting fraud.
- Is it possible to prevent Harmful Algal Blooms? An electrochemical genosensor that detects dinoflagellates could be the answerPublication . Pereira, Eduarda; Silva, Aurora; Morais, Stephanie L.; Costa-Rama, Estefanía; Moreira, Patrícia R.; Fraga-Corral, M.; Torrado, Ana M.; Rodríguez, Francisco; Barros, Piedade; Cruz, Agostinho; Delerue-Matos, Cristina; Prieto, M. A.; Simal-Gandara, J.; Silva, Nádia F. D.; Santos, Marlene; Barroso, M. FátimaHarmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a very common phenomenon in the last few years that results from the accumulation of microalgae, such as dinoflagellates of the Dinophysis genus. Hence, the development of analytical technologies capable of detecting these microorganisms and thereby avoiding environmental and public health crisis, has become a major priority. Biosensors have been gaining recognition lately given their notable assets: they are fast, sensitive and allow in situ analysis.
- Sensing the mind: label-free miRNA-based sensor as a diagnostic tool for neurodevelopmental disordersPublication . Pereira, Eduarda; Santos, Renata; Prior, Catarina; Santos, Marlene; Teixeira, Ana Luísa; Barroso, M. Fátima; Santos, Marlene; Almeida Rufo Pereira, EduardaMental health disorders, including Attention-Defi-cit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism spec-trum disorder (ASD), are global public health concerns that lack accurate and fast diagnostic tools. Recent evidence highlights miR-151a-3p as a promising circu-lating biomarker, as its levels in plasma and saliva are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. How-ever, current detection methods like RT-qPCR are ex-pensive and time-consuming, which creates a demand for innovative point-of-care solutions. Highly sensitive electrochemical biosensor for the direct detection of miR-151a-3p emerge as promising alternatives, in gold screen-printed electrodes functionalized with a specific DNA-151a-3p capture probe. The biosensor’s assembly and the hybridization events were moni-tored using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochem-ical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Preliminary results indicate that the biosensor exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity, distinguishing the target miR-151a-3p from non-complementary sequences within biologi-cally relevant concentration ranges. This label-free ap-proach offers a significant advantage over traditional assays by providing a cost-effective, fast, and portable diagnostic tool.