Biosensing for the analysis of raw milk

Appropriate methods for monitoring raw milk in food sectors are required in order to prevent health-related issues from consuming milk or fermented dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. Conventional systems used for this purpose require sophisticated instruments, highly technical staff and several days to yield an estimated contaminant concentration profile. Currently, there is no technology available for fast and sensitive identification of unwanted substances that evidences several concentration levels in raw milk. As a contribution to the progress of innovative biochemical sensing systems, this thesis presents the design, development and construction of a prototype, which combines the expertise of sensitive immunoassay process with micro total analysis system (µTAS) to identify specific compounds encountered in raw milk. Since the concept of µTAS appeared, the development of microfluidic devices and their application have increased enormously. Microfluidic devices offer a highly efficient platform for analysis of biomolecules due to the capacity for manipulating small amounts of liquid quickly and with high precision. Particle size estimation, particle separation, cell collection, manipulation and cell detection are some of many functions which could be performed through microfluidic systems. Based on these advantages, microfluidic devices in combination with an associated immunoassay system were used in the prototype to concentrate contamination patterns or specific compounds encountered in raw milk. The NANODETECT prototype developed in this thesis should provide an economic, efficient and sensitive platform for multicomponent detection of specific substances in raw milk without requiring sophisticated instruments and trained staff. This thesis was performed for the European project NANODETECT (Development of nanosensors for the detection of quality parameters along the food chain) funded by European Commission within the 7th framework program.