This study utilizes the inherent presence of bacterial enzymes
to provide a rapid, non-invasive approach for the detection of
listeria in food samples. The addition of specific enzyme substrates,
one commercially available (2-nitrophenyl-b-D-glucoside) and the
other specifically designed and synthesized for this study
(2-[(3-fluorophenyl) carbamoylamino]acetic acid), to liberate
unique, identifiable and quantifiable VOCs i.e. 2-nitrophenol and
3-fluoroaniline. The approach has been used for the identification
of L. monocytogenes contaminated food samples. L. monocytogenes
has been implicated in food-borne illness originating from various
food types, but this work will focus on milk samples artificially
contaminated with L. monocytogenes.