University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

A paper-based, smartphone assisted assay for detection and quantification of iron in fortified foods

Waller, Anna West

Content Files
WALLER-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/108228

Description

Title
A paper-based, smartphone assisted assay for detection and quantification of iron in fortified foods
Author(s)
Waller, Anna West
Issue Date
2020-03-25
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Andrade, Juan E
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Stasiewiz, Matthew J
Committee Member(s)
  • Lee, Youngsoo
  • Wang, Yi-Cheng
  • Viswanathan, Madhubalan
Department of Study
Food Science & Human Nutrition
Discipline
Food Science & Human Nutrition
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Date of Ingest
2020-08-27T00:46:51Z
Keyword(s)
  • fortification
  • iron
  • ASSURED
Abstract
Globally, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is projected to affect 800 million children and women. Iron fortification of staple foods such as corn flour is a cost-effective strategy for combating IDA and is a mandatory government program in Mexico. Program success relies on monitoring (compliance) and evaluation (quality control) oversight, requiring expensive equipment and personnel. The World Health Organization has identified criteria for analytical tools to be used in low-income countries known as ASSURED. The overall objective is to design, develop, and validate an ASSURED-designed, paper-based assay which interfaces with a smartphone to quantify iron in fortified foods. The dissertation will accomplish the aforementioned objective using mixed-methods chapters. The first study will identify the gap in low-resource sensor research published within the last 20 years with a systematic review. The second study will understand the context, barriers, and limitations of the Mexican flour fortification program by qualitative analysis of exploratory interviews. The third study will develop and optimize an ASSURED paper-based assay to determine iron content in fortified foods that interfaces with a smartphone application. The fourth study will validate this application in Mexico to determine its applicability for detecting iron in corn flour as a means of monitoring and evaluating fortification programs. In collaboration with Mexican private and public partners and Illinois technical experts, this dissertation ultimately serves as a bottom-up solution to the monitoring and evaluation limitations of fortification programs.
Graduation Semester
2020-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108228
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2020 Anna Waller

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Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Food Science and Human Nutrition