Food electroanalysis: sense and simplicity.

With the appearance of advanced approaches such as screen-printed technology, biosensors, microchips and nanotechnology, among others, electroanalysis is undergoing a true Renaissance. Inherent miniaturization of electrochemistry makes it a unique detection and transduction principle, highly compatible with the modern miniaturized analytical chemistry involving micro- and nanotechnologies. It also implies advantages on portability and further disposability. Another very unique feature linked to electrochemistry is the versatility for "selectivity design" towards the suitable selection of (nano)(bio)materials and by the direct manipulation of the electrical properties. Their remarkable sensitivity and low cost are additional valuable features. However, from my personal perspective, these "natural beauties" are underexploited in the analysis of food samples not only because of the complexity of food samples but also because electrochemistry has traditionally been seen as "a difficult thing". From my own experience, electrochemical approaches have been very useful in the evaluation of antioxidant activities in vitro, in the development of screening methods, as high-performance detectors in advanced analytical microsystems such as capillary-electrophoresis microchips and in the development of microfluidic inmunosensors. In consequence, electroanalysis has also demonstrated an important role in fields such as antioxidant sensing, quality control assessment, detection of frauds and food safety. In this personal account, drawing from selected examples of my own work, I illustrate the marriage between electrochemistry and food analysis, food electroanalysis, by sense and simplicity.