Discrimination of Powdered Infant Formula According to Species, Country of Origin, and Brand Using a Fluorescent Sensor Array

Abstract

The identification of infant formula is important for the health of newborns and economic concerns. Here, we present the construction of a three-unit fluorescent sensor array for the discrimination of powdered infant formulas according to species, country of origin, and brand. The array consisted of the conjugated polymers PPE2, PPE-SO3, and PPE-N1, which generate nonspecific interactions with substances in infant formulas and produce response signals. A multivariate statistical analysis was performed using LDA to recognize the response patterns. Leave-one-out cross-validation and LDA classifier showed the successful discrimination of 24 different infant formula samples according to their species, countries of origin, and brands. This sensor array does not require any sample pre-/post-treatment. Its speed and efficacy of discrimination is comparable or superior to existing discrimination methods for infant formula.