Researchers at Iowa State University, Northwestern University, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have created sensors that can detect histamine, an indicator of spoiled fish and meat, down to 3.41 parts per million. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set histamine guidelines of 50 parts per million in fish, making these sensors more than sensitive enough to track food freshness and safety. To make the sensors, the researchers first printed graphene electrodes on a flexible polymer and then converted them to histamine sensors. This work is funded by the National Science Foundation, NIFA’s AFRI program, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. For more information, read the Iowa State University article.
The study was supported by grants from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Nanotechnology Program. Please contact Hongda Chen, Ph.D. for more information.
