NFC-enabled sensing platform for the onsite determination of asparagine in food

Hong Seok Lee; Ravleen Kaur Panesar; Laura Gonzalez-Macia; Giandrin Barandun; Firat Güder

doi:10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102675

NFC-enabled sensing platform for the onsite determination of asparagine in food

Hong Seok Lee
, Ravleen Kaur Panesar
, Laura Gonzalez-Macia
, Giandrin Barandun
, Firat Güder

Department of Life Sciences

Imperial College London
Department of Bioengineering
BlakBear Ltd

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The formation of acrylamide, a potent neurotoxin, during the cooking of common foods like potatoes, and coffee presents a significant food safety challenge. This reaction is driven by free asparagine, yet current methods for its quantification are lab-based, slow, and expensive. To address this, we developed the first fully-integrated, batteryless, and wireless point-of-need sensor for rapid detection of free asparagine. Our innovation lies in coupling a disposable, chemically-functionalized paper-based gas sensor with a Near Field Communication (NFC) integrated circuit. This architecture allows a standard smartphone to wirelessly power the sensor and receive real-time data. The device operates by detecting ammonia gas, which is released during the enzymatic degradation of asparagine. Our proof-of-concept system achieves a detection limit of 3.28 μg/mL, sufficient for quantifying asparagine in food products. By eliminating the need for external power sources or readers, this technology provides a practical and cost-effective tool to improve quality control and safety in food manufacturing.

Original language	English
Article number	102675
Number of pages	10
Journal	Materials Today Bio
Volume	36
Early online date	12 Dec 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102675
Publication status	Published - 28 Feb 2026

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

The authors thank the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London and SiliconCraft Ltd for providing SIC4341 IC chips and their application library. F.G. and H.S.L. thank the Economic and Social Research Council (ES/P000703/1), and London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership. L.G.-M. thanks the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101025390. F.G. and G.B. thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, EP/R010242/1), and General Electric Healthcare. F.G. thanks Bezos Earth Fund through the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein (BCSP/IC/001).

Keywords

Acrylamide
Asparagine
Enzyme-mediated gas-phase sensing
Food safety
NFC

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Biotechnology
Bioengineering
Biomaterials
Biomedical Engineering
Molecular Biology
Cell Biology

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10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102675Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "NFC-enabled sensing platform for the onsite determination of asparagine in food",

abstract = "The formation of acrylamide, a potent neurotoxin, during the cooking of common foods like potatoes, and coffee presents a significant food safety challenge. This reaction is driven by free asparagine, yet current methods for its quantification are lab-based, slow, and expensive. To address this, we developed the first fully-integrated, batteryless, and wireless point-of-need sensor for rapid detection of free asparagine. Our innovation lies in coupling a disposable, chemically-functionalized paper-based gas sensor with a Near Field Communication (NFC) integrated circuit. This architecture allows a standard smartphone to wirelessly power the sensor and receive real-time data. The device operates by detecting ammonia gas, which is released during the enzymatic degradation of asparagine. Our proof-of-concept system achieves a detection limit of 3.28 μg/mL, sufficient for quantifying asparagine in food products. By eliminating the need for external power sources or readers, this technology provides a practical and cost-effective tool to improve quality control and safety in food manufacturing.",

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AU - Güder, Firat

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NFC-enabled sensing platform for the onsite determination of asparagine in food

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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