Catechol (CC) is classified as a human carcinogen and environmental pollutant due to its high toxicity and low degradability. A previous test article in the journal Food Chemistry focuses on the development of nanocomposites (NCs) based on organic metal frames (MOFs) as a new electrochemical detection technology for the detection of catechols.
Study: metal oxide nanohybrids derived from engineering MOFs: towards the electrochemical detection of catechol in tea samples. Image credit: Viktor Zadorozhnyi / Shutterstock.com
Catechol (CC) is dihydroxybenzene found in many natural food sources such as tea, vegetables, tobacco, fruits and many other plants. For humans, a lethal dose of CC ranges from 50 to 500 mg / kg, or a tablespoon for an individual of 70 kg.
Even in small doses, catechol can induce damage to the central nervous system (CNS) and a persistent increase in blood pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to develop simple, reliable and sensitive detection techniques.
Limitations of current methods of catechol detection
Many analytical approaches such as gas chromatography, surface plasmon resonance, high performance liquid chromatography, and spectrophotometry are used for catechol detection. However, these techniques have several limitations, such as low selectivity, difficult operation, and high sample pretreatment costs, restricting their practical implementation.
Electrochemical detection is an emerging detection method in the research of ecological and physiological materials due to its strong selectivity, sensitivity, rapid analytical response, simple equipment and profitability. However, the effectiveness of the detection depends very much on the chemistry of the electrode substance, leading to inconsistent analyzes.
Organic metal frames (MOF) for DC detection
Researchers are now working to establish sound analytical methodologies for detecting phenolic chemicals such as catechol in industrial and ecological samples using detectors based on organic metal frames (MOFs). MOFs are used as precursors in the thermolysis production of a variety of valuable materials such as metal oxides and nanocomposites.
MOFs can be fused with other beneficial and highly conductive materials such as copper and its derivatives to overcome their weak electrical properties.
Compared to single metal and non-metal oxide materials, the mixture of transition metal oxides (MTMO) and MOF can improve the overall conductance of the sensor. This is because MTMOs play an important role in increasing the electrocatalytic behavior of the materials produced.
Nickel oxide (NiO) is a desirable transition metal oxide (TMO) in this context due to its remarkable antiferromagnetic characteristics, high catalytic efficiency, high temperature resistance, excellent chemical durability, strong conductance and excel · Slow dynamic dispersion.
A new MOF-based electrochemical sensor
In this study, the researchers developed a new electrochemical sensor based on the combination of copper, nickel oxide and MOF (Cu-MOF / CuO / NiO) using a simple hydrothermal method.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy Fourier transforms (FTIR) were performed to characterize the manufactured Cu-MOF / CuO / NiO electrochemical sensor.
The electrochemical sensor developed was used to detect the catechol of two varieties of tea, namely black tea and green tea, to evaluate the viability of the detection medium based on Cu-MOF / CuO / NiO.
Highlights and key developments of the study
In this research, a new electrochemical sensor was manufactured that includes Cu-MOF / CuO / NiO nanocomposites using a reliable hydrothermal technique for the extremely selective, accurate and accurate detection of catechol in tea samples.
This is one of the first studies to describe the synthesis and implementation of a copper-based metal organic framework (Cu-MOF) as a sacrificial template for the construction of electrochemical sensors.
The Cu-MOF / CuO / NiO electrochemical sensor has exceptional electrochemical performance due to attractive properties such as high catalytic efficiency, permeability, high conductance and the synergistic effect of doped components.
Compared to the nanomaterial-based catechol biosensors reported above, the new electrochemical sensors developed in this study demonstrated a low limit of detection (LOD) with adequate analytical characteristics such as responsiveness, repeatability, and a wide range of linear intensity (0.01 – 22). M).
Future perspectives
As proof of concept, the proposed electrochemical sensor has been used successfully for rapid and accurate identification of catechols, revealing its wide optimistic range of prospective applications in the regular analysis of tea samples.
Using this manufacturing technique, the applications of MOF-derived electrochemical sensors can be expanded to design various metal oxide nanocomposites for use in photocatalysis, detection and environmental monitoring systems.
Reference
Iftikhar, T. et al. (2022). Metal oxide nanohybrids derived from engineered MOFs: towards electrochemical detection of catechol in tea samples. Food Chemistry. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814622016041?via%3Dihub
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