Research Progress of Foodborne Carbon Nanoparticles

Abstract:

Carbon nanoparticles, namely carbon dots, are widely used in many fields, such as chemical sensing, biological sensing, biological imaging, drug delivery and food safety since they possess various advantages including tunable fluorescent emission characteristics, low cost and low toxicity. Recently, foodborne carbon nanoparticles have been found in bread, biscuit, instant coffee, commercial beverage, milk and a variety of thermal-processed meat products. They could be directly used as fluorescent probes and imaging reagents. This article reviewed the origin of foodborne carbon nanoparticles, their properties and applications, providing theoretical background and development direction for further and intensive study of carbon nanoparticles in food.