Innovative and cutting-edge approaches in microfluidic paper-based analytical devices for detection of food adulteration

Food adulterants are substances added to food products to improve their weight and appearance and reduce costs. However, the use of these substances deteriorates the quality of food products and results in a decrease in nutritional value. For this reason, situations that negatively affect the health of consumers occur. Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (mu PADs) have gained popularity as miniaturized, portable, highly sensitive, accurate, and affordable detection platforms. mu PADs are preferred as advantageous platforms for the determination of food adulterants in foods, thanks to their on-site analysis and simultaneous determination of multiple analytes features. Therefore, mu PADs provide fast and reliable results in food safety. In this review, the selection of paper and method for the fabrication of mu PADs, as well as the determination of the signal readout mode, are briefly mentioned. In addition, the sample preparation process before the use of PADs is also mentioned. The most current applications of mu PADs in determining food adulteration are applied sample, method, linear range, LOD, etc., evaluated in terms of parameters. This review also sheds light on commercial practices by discussing the most prominent studies in the last three years.