Utilizing green zinc oxide nanoparticles as a sensing platform for ascorbic acid

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Green Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Ascorbic acid (AA) is a vital nutrient and antioxidant.
• Accurate detection of AA is crucial for clinical diagnostics and food analysis.
• Existing AA detection methods may lack sensitivity, selectivity, or environmental friendliness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a green synthesis method for zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs).
• To utilize ZnO NPs for sensitive fluorescence-based detection of ascorbic acid (AA).
• To evaluate the performance and applicability of the developed ZnO NP platform for AA sensing.

Main Methods:

• Green synthesis of ZnO NPs using Batavia lettuce extract and zinc acetate.
• Characterization of ZnO NPs using XRD, UV-vis, FTIR, SEM, DLS, TGA, and photoluminescence.
• Development of a fluorescence sensing method for AA based on ZnO NP interaction.
• Determination of detection limit, photostability, and selectivity of the sensing platform.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized 6 nm ZnO NPs with a wurtzite structure via a green, fast, and eco-friendly method.
• ZnO NPs exhibited blue photoluminescence when excited at 320 nm.
• The fluorescence sensing method achieved a low detection limit of 5.15 μM for AA with high sensitivity and selectivity.
• The developed ZnO NPs demonstrated excellent photostability for 30 days and effective performance in complex samples.

Conclusions:

• Green synthesized ZnO NPs provide a stable and efficient platform for fluorescence sensing of AA.
• The proposed method is rapid, sensitive, selective, and environmentally benign.
• This platform holds potential for application in clinical analysis and other protocols requiring AA detection.