Researchers print graphene sensors to monitor food safety

During trials on a sample of tuna broth the sensor – which is produced by depositing graphene electrodes on flexible polymer - was used to detect minute levels of histamine (as low as 3.41 parts per million) which is an allergen and indicator of spoiled fish and meat.

A paper on the work in the journal 2D Materials describes how the graphene electrodes were aerosol jet printed on a flexible polymer and then converted to histamine sensors by chemically binding histamine antibodies to the graphene. The histamine blocks electron transfer and increases electrical resistance, which can be measured and recorded by the sensor.

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Jonathan Claussen, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University and one of the leaders of the research project, said that the study has demonstrated that aerosol-jet printing is precise enough to create the high-resolution electrodes required for such an application.  "The closer we can print these electrode fingers, in general, the higher the sensitivity of these biosensors,” he said.