Fuente:
Food Bioactives
Nanotechnology is a quickly growing field in the modern innovative world with significant applications in the modern food industry, enhancing many aspects of food production, safety, and quality. Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing (TRPS) has emerged as a powerful analytical technique for the high-resolution characterization of nanoparticles in food matrices, offering single-particle resolution for size, concentration, and real-time surface charge measurements. This technique operates by detecting changes in electrical resistance as nanoparticles traverse a tunable nanopore ranging from ~50 nm to cellular scales, generating unique resistive pulses corresponding to each particle. Unlike conventional methods such as dynamic light scattering or electron microscopy, TRPS enables label-free, real-time analysis of polydisperse samples with unparalleled accuracy, enhanced sensitivity, and specificity. This makes it ideal for detecting and quantifying engineered nanoparticles, additives, nutrient delivery systems such as liposomes, protein carriers, color enhancers, protein aggregates, or lipid vesicles in complex food systems. It is also useful for assessing naturally occurring nanoparticles and nanoplastics in food products and packaging, while providing simultaneous zeta potential analysis to assess particle stability and interactions. This chapter explores the principles, advantages, and applications of TRPS in Nanoparticle-Based Food Analysis, emphasizing its ability to monitor nanoparticle behavior under physiologically relevant conditions (e.g., pH, ionic strength). It also highlights the advancements of TRPS in food nanotechnology, ensuring the safety, authenticity, and efficacy of nanoparticle applications in modern food systems.