Course
Summer School on Smartphone-based Food Analysis
This course provides detailed knowledge of the state of the art, design requirements, fundamental building blocks and practical aspects that pave the road for future smartphone-based food analysis.
Background
(Bio)analytical techniques are essential in the field of food science and technology. Usually, samples are being taken by inspectors somewhere in the food chain, or by operators in a production plant of the food industry, and sent to a qualified lab for quality and safety analysis. It is envisaged that these practices will change dramatically in the coming years. Initial quality and safety analysis will be done on-site, in the field, at the farm, at the retail, at the food production plant, ultimately even by yourself at home. Smartphones are the ideal platform to make this happen, thanks to the powerful computer, graphics, high-quality camera, USB-interface, integrated time and GPS location data, and the near real-time wireless communication with remote computers and databases from stakeholders. Some early proof-of-concept examples have emerged in recent literature. Simple attachments, costing only a few dollars or less, may turn your smartphone or tablet into a food analysis instrument having a performance not so much different from much more expensive benchtop instruments in a lab.
Target group
The course is aimed at PhD candidates and young researchers working in the field of food research and scientists from industries who would like to improve their out-of-the-box thinking and become involved in the design and fundamentals of future smartphone-based food quality and safety testing tools. The course is mandatory for the 11 early stage researchers of the H2020 Marie-Curie project FoodSmartphone.
Course aim
After the course, participants should have a detailed knowledge of the state of the art, design requirements, fundamental building blocks and practical aspects that pave the road for future smartphone-based food analysis.
Course design
The course will be composed of lectures, working groups, laboratory work, a workshop and an invited distinguished guest lecture. The course is multidisciplinary in nature and includes relevant topics from surface chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, microfluidics, engineering and software design. Apart from key lectures on a specific technique, several cases will be discussed from smartphone literature.
Programme topics
- Setting the scene 1: food monitoring in the EU
- Setting the scene 2: the RASFF system
- Setting the scene 3: food fraud issues
- Introduction to a FoodSmartphone approach
- Principles of biorecognition and ligand binding assays
- How to speed-up a binding assay
- Robust antifouling by surface chemistry
- Introduction to microfluidics
- Optical detection compatible with smartphones
- Electrochemical detection options
- Membranes and microsieves
- Image data handling
- Hot papers in literature
- Hands-on lateral flow immunoassays
- CAD and 3D-printing of smartphone add-ons
- Commercial smartphone-ready binding assays
- Workshop on communication
- Validation of screening assays and benchmarking
- The alternative: vibrational spectroscopy on a smartphone
- Meet the expert in smartphone analytics
Organisation
Course coordinators
- Prof. Michel W.F. Nielen, RIKILT Wageningen University & Research and Wageningen University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Chair Analytical Chemistry and H2020 FoodSmartphone coordinator.
- Mr. Wim Beek, FoodSmartphone project secretary
- Mrs. Chantal Doeswijk, Graduate School VLAG
Other faculty
- Prof. Aydogan Ozcan, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
- Prof. Daniel Filippini, Linköping University, Linköping, SE
- Dr. Jeroen Jansen, Radboud University, Nijmegen, NL
- Prof. Han Zuilhof, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL
- Prof. Cees van Rijn, Aquamarijn Microfiltration, Zutphen, NL
- Dr. Louis de Smet, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL
- Dr. Monique Bremer, RIKILT Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, NL
- Dr. Leen van Ginkel, Director EU Reference Laboratory, Wageningen, NL
- Dr. Hans Marvin, RIKILT Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, NL
- Dr. Bjorn Berendsen, RIKILT Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, NL
- Dr. Yannick Weesepoel, RIKILT Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, NL
Date & duration
The course will be held 5 days, from 26 - 30 June 2017.
Study load
The study load of this course is 2.0 ECTS credits.
Language
The course will be conducted in English.
Contact information
More information concerning the course content can be obtained from Prof. Michel Nielen through the FoodSmartphone secretary (Wim.Beek@wur.nl).
For organisational matters please contact Mrs. Chantal Doeswijk, phone: +31-317-485143 (Chantal.Doeswijk@wur.nl).
Location & accommodation
The course venue is the RIKILT institute, building 123 at Wageningen Campus, Wageningen The Netherlands. The town of Wageningen is 5 km from Ede-Wageningen railway station, with transport options being taxi or bus. Ede-Wageningen railway station is about one and a half hours from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. For train schedules visit: www.ns.nl.
A number of hotel rooms have been block booked at the Hof van Wageningen for course participants, but only until 15 May 2017. Accommodation costs are € 75 (single room; bed & breakfast) or € 92 (double room; bed & breakfast) per night. Hotel reservation is handled by Hof van Wageningen. Participants have to book their own hotel room by sending an email to: info@hofvanwageningen.nl. Please mention booking code Food Phone17.
Registration & course fee
The number of participants to the course is limited to 40.
To register please complete the electronic reply form before 30 May 2017.
Registrations are accepted in the order in which the registration form is received.
Instructions for payment, a letter of acceptance and further course details will be sent to the applicants within two weeks after registration and at the latest on 19 May 2017.
Please bring your own smartphone (or tablet) equipped with at least one working camera.
The course fee (which includes all course materials, coffee/tea during breaks, lunches and one dinner but does not cover accommodation) depends on the participant's affiliation:
| ESRs from H2020 FoodSmartphone | Free of charge |
| PhD candidates affiliated with VLAG | € 250 |
| PhD candidates | € 500 |
| University staff / Non -Profit | € 750 |
| Industry / For-Profit | € 2000 |
Cancellation policy:
- Cancellation may be made free of charge until 19 May 2017.
- From 19 May - 19 June 2017 we will charge 25% of the course fee paid
- After 19 June 2017 no refund will be paid