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Published on: March 7, 2018
Ag nanoparticles grown on a waste eggshell membrane as an efficient monolithic oxidase mimic for ascorbic acid
Qiuxia Deng1, Shuang Xiao1, Jinyi Xie1
1Key Laboratory of Green Materials and Technology, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China. jphdp868@126.com.
Analytical Methods : Advancing Methods and Applications
|July 13, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a novel colorimetric sensing platform using silver nanoparticles on eggshell membranes (Ag/ESM) as an oxidase mimic. This "trash to treasure" approach offers a simple, sensitive, and reliable method for detecting ascorbic acid in food.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science: Development of novel nanomaterials for sensing applications.
- Biochemistry: Mimicking enzyme activity using nanomaterials for biosensing.
Background:
- Nanozymes offer an alternative to natural enzymes in colorimetric sensing platforms for biosensing and food analysis.
- Existing nanozymes often require separation before detection, complicating their use.
- Monolithic architectures are gaining attention for their operational simplicity and control in sensing applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) grown on eggshell membranes (Ag/ESM) as a novel biomaterial-based monolithic oxidase mimic.
- To fabricate a colorimetric sensing platform for ascorbic acid (AA) detection using the Ag/ESM system.
- To demonstrate a sustainable 'trash to treasure' strategy for creating advanced sensing materials.
Main Methods:
- Auto-reduction of Ag+ onto discarded eggshell membranes (ESM) using inherent reductive functional groups in ESM proteins to form Ag/ESM.
- Characterization of Ag NPs for size, dispersion, and catalytic activity towards 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidation.
- Fabrication of a colorimetric sensing platform utilizing the Ag/ESM-TMB system for AA detection.
Main Results:
- Ag/ESM was successfully synthesized without external reducing agents, yielding small, highly dispersed Ag NPs.
- The Ag/ESM exhibited high oxidase-mimicking activity (low Km = 0.118 mM, high Vmax = 1.32 × 10^-7 M s^-1) for TMB oxidation.
- The developed colorimetric platform demonstrated excellent sensitivity, selectivity, feasibility, and reliability for AA detection in real food samples.
Conclusions:
- Ag/ESM serves as an effective monolithic oxidase mimic, simplifying operation and enabling on-demand analysis.
- The 'trash to treasure' approach utilizing waste ESM provides a sustainable route for fabricating advanced nanomaterials.
- The Ag/ESM-based colorimetric sensing platform offers a simple yet sensitive method for AA detection in food analysis.
