Feasibility study for the detection of Trichinella spiralis in a murine model using mid-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (MID-FTIR) with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and soft independent modelling of class analogies (SIMCA)

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and soft independent modelling by class analogies (SIMCA) was used to assess the feasibility of detecting Trichinella spiralis in a murine model. The selected FTIR wavenumber range was 1700-900 cm−1 and the first derivative of the spectra was subjected to SIMCA analysis. The SIMCA model developed for rat meat spiked with T. spiralis larvae was successfully apply to classify non-infected from infected rat meat with a limit of detection of 3 larvae/10 g rat meat and no false positives with 99% confidence limit. To avoid false positives arising from the presence of other parasites, another chemometric model was developed to demonstrate the capacity of the model to discriminate between Ascaris suum, Taenia solium and T. spiralis. Results confirmed that this method could correctly distinguish these parasites. Additional studies are needed to prove the effectiveness of this technique for other types of muscle meats, including those relevant to human consumption.