A novel strategy is presented for simple, sensitive and selective branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) detection in edible insects on a paper test strip device readout with a smartphone. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were applied, interacting with dye, which provided 1.5 times higher color intensity than the one without AgNPs. The proposed paper test strip exhibiting the detection limit of leucine, isoleucine and valine were 6.0, 6.2 and 7.2 mg/L, respectively. The linear dynamic ranges were 20-120 mg/L for leucine and 20-110 mg/L for isoleucine and valine detections. The proposed paper test strip was successfully applied for the detection of BCAAs in edible insects. The analytical results obtained using paper test strips were in good agreement with those obtained via a commercial test kit. This study shows the successful integration of the paper test strip and the smartphone to afford an easy-to-use, inexpensive and portable device alternative for BCAAs analysis.
Keywords: Branched-chain amino acids; Edible insect; Paper test strip; Silver nanoparticles; Smartphone.
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.