A Fast and Easy Probe Based on CMC/Eu (III) Nanocomposites to Detect Acrylamide in Different Food Simulants Migrating from Food-Contacting Paper Materials

The residual acrylamide in food paper packaging can be transferred into water and food, which will cause harmful effects on human beings. In this paper, a rapid and easily available fluorescent probe based on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/Eu (III) nanocomposites was designed to detect the residue acrylamide with high sensibility. The probe could respond in 1 min. The concentration of acrylamide was linearly correlated to the fluorescence intensity of the probe at the emission wavelength of 615 nm in the concentration range of 0.1-100 mu mol/L. The limit of detection (LOD) of the probe was 0.085 mu g/L, which is lower than the guideline value of the European Union, the U.S. EPA, and the WHO. An experiment was performed to simulate the acrylamide migrating from food-contacting paper materials to different foods, including waterborne food, alcohol beverage, acidic food, and greasy food. The recoveries and RSDs of acrylamide in all samples indicated that the CMC/Eu (III) fluorescent probe was efficient for acrylamide detection. The possible mechanism of the probe for acrylamide detection involved both dynamically quenching and static quenching by forming of non-fluorescent substances.