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The convergence of technology and the food industry: Bionanosensors as a potential tool to overcome seafood spoilage
1 , 1 , 2, 3 , 4, 5 , 6 , 1 , * 7 , * 1, 8
1  1Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Science, E32004 Ourense, Spain.
2  1Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA) – CITEXVI, 36310 Vigo, España.
3  4 REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal.
4  1 Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA) – CITEXVI, 36310 Vigo, España.
5  3 LAQV@REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, R. Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal.
6  1 Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Science, E32004 Ourense, Spain.
7  3 REQUIMTE/LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal.
8  2 Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolonia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal.
Academic Editor: Giovanna Marrazza

Abstract:

Seafood is known for its mineral, vitamin, and polyunsaturated fatty acid content, which means that its consumption is related to several health benefits. Moreover, fish products are characterized by their high water activity, pH, and nutrient content, especially non-protein nitrogen (NPN) compounds. Because of their composition, fish products are one of the most perishable foods, so the shelf life maintenance of these products is a challenge for the food industry. Seafood spoilage occurs because of biochemical reactions or/and because of the metabolic activity of naturally present microorganisms, producing alterations in the product that negatively affect its sensory characteristics and make it unsuitable for consumption. Moreover, the spoilage produced in fish products is the leading cause of fish losses globally, creating a sustainability problem. Despite the challenge of investigating the deterioration and degradation process of fish freshness, research related to biosensors as flexible and reliable devices to detect fish quality attributes in different scenarios has exponentially risen in the past few years. Among biosensors, bionanosensors stand out since they provide consumers with information in response to changes in internal or external quality and safety parameters of raw materials and/or their environment, ensuring food quality and safety. This communication is a review of how different nanobiosensors (bioreceptors, transducers, and optical biosensors) may help extend seafood shelf life, guaranteeing its quality and safety during storage, as well as the main challenges associated with these devices (e.g., the limited application in biological systems), together with the future perspectives to overcome these limitations. For this purpose, keywords were used in different databases and the data from the information collected were analysed.

Keywords: fish spoilage; nanobiosensors; shelf life; food quality; food safety.
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