Consumption of dietary supplements in Poland has significantly increased over the recent years. Their use supplements a daily diet with some minerals and vitamins. Diet supplements, in addition to valuable vitamins and minerals, often contain various types of plant-derived ingredients that may be contaminated with heavy metals.
Majority of the consumers consider dietary supplements to be safe and their widespread availability leads to the belief that they can be taken with no restrictions. Meanwhile, improper and unjustified use of dietary supplements, lack of reliable information on contraindications to their use, as well as excessive consumption of these products may cause serious health consequences.
- Considering consumer health safety and the increasing demand for dietary supplements, the aim of my project is to take up the analytical challenge, which includes a trace analysis (detection) of heavy metals in selected food products. For this purpose, I will develop and use cheap and easy-to-use electrochemical sensors – explains dr Karolina Sipa.
And she adds:
- It is about developing analytical tools that will ensure the quality and accuracy of tests comparable to commercially used methods that require expensive equipment and professional operating personnel. Electroanalysis is characterized by a low cost of experiments and the necessary equipment, compactness, reliability of measurement procedures (allowing for quick and often selective detection of an analyte even in samples with a complex chemical composition).
Knowledge that is essential for a consumer
The project assumption is to obtain knowledge whether we can actually find heavy metals in dietary supplements, in what concentration, or if they are any at all there. There is no mention of their content on the supplement packages. Nevertheless, the content of these compounds is strictly regulated by the European standards that define admissible maximum levels of heavy metals in food products.
- I have encountered many situations when despite the fact that the leaflet says that the daily dose is 1 or 2 tablets, people take more of them, thinking that they will be healthier. Unfortunately, this is approach of many people. What if it turns out that these 1 or 2 tablets contain the optimal amount of heavy metals and each next tablet increases this amount in our body? It has been known for a long time that heavy metals are toxic and can induce cancer. I would like to raise awareness of this issue – continues dr K. Sipa.
Chemistry development
As part of the project, new sensors will be developed, which will be subjected to the detailed characteristics using a number of methods, including spectroscopic, microscopic and electrochemical ones.
- The obtained results will contribute to the development of chemistry in a general sense and they will provide a wealth of knowledge in the field of synthetic, material and analytical chemistry. The proposed solutions set a new path for the development of functional materials. What's more, the developed sensors may aspire to analytical (maybe even commercial) applications in the medical sector – adds the researcher.
The research project entitled "Electroanalytical platforms based on functionalized mesoporous silica thin films in the analysis of heavy metals content in dietary supplements" is coordinated by dr Karolina Sipa as part of the Grant for Young Researchers (Initiative of Excellence - Research University (IDUB) competition).
dr Karolina Sipa – assistant professor at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Lodz, employed at the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry since 2019. She completed BA studies (chemistry, specialisation: chemical analytics, 2010), MA studies (chemical analytics, 2015) and doctoral studies (2019) at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Lodz. Her research is mainly focused on the development of new electrochemical sensors and their use in the analysis of various biologically active substances. In addition, dr Sipa is involved in the production of materials in electrochemically assisted processes. Dr Karolina Sipa is a co-author of 12 original scientific publications from the Philadelphia list. During her doctoral studies, she completed 7 short scientific internships (up to 30 days) at foreign research centres, among others, in Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Serbia. In 2020, she was awarded the French Government Scholarship (BFG) and completed a 2-month post-doc internship (2020) at a prestigious research and academic laboratory being a mixed unit of the University of Lorraine (France) and the National Centre for Scientific Research (France). In addition, dr Sipa received, among others, the UMCS Rector Team Award of the second degree for scientific and research achievements in 2017, the Team Award of the UL Rector for special scientific and research achievements in the field of exact sciences for a series of publications published in 2017 and 2018 and she won the UL Rector Award for an outstanding activity for the benefit and good of the University of Lodz in 2019.
Source: dr Karolina Sipa from the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Lodz
Edit: promotion Centre, UL
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