Colorimetric sensor array for flavonoids recognition based on peroxidase-like FeCo nanosheet

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Flavonoids possess significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiviral properties.
• Accurate and efficient identification and quantification of flavonoids are crucial due to their biological importance.
• Existing methods for flavonoid analysis can be time-consuming and complex.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid, efficient, and intelligent method for identifying and quantifying flavonoids.
• To leverage the differential inhibitory effects of flavonoids on nanozyme activity for sensor development.
• To create a colorimetric sensor array capable of distinguishing individual flavonoids and their mixtures.

Main Methods:

• A colorimetric sensor array was designed using Fe/Co nanosheet (NS) nanozymes.
• The sensor exploits the varying inhibition of flavonoids on the Fe/Co NS-catalyzed redox reaction between 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂).
• Three sensing channels with different reaction times were employed, and data was analyzed using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and machine learning.

Main Results:

• Structural differences in flavonoids led to distinct inhibition patterns on the Fe/Co NS nanozyme activity.
• These varying inhibitions resulted in unique absorbance changes at 652 nm, creating a 'fingerprint' for each flavonoid.
• The sensor array successfully discriminated five different flavonoids and accurately recognized flavonoid mixtures and blind samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed colorimetric sensor array provides a powerful tool for the intelligent identification and quantification of flavonoids.
• The method demonstrates excellent recognition performance, even in the presence of interfering substances and in real food samples.
• This approach offers a promising alternative for rapid flavonoid analysis in various applications.