Highly sensitive and selective spectrofluorimetric determination of nitrite in food products with a novel fluorogenic probe

Emerging insights into the application of metal-organic framework (MOF)-based materials for electrochemical heavy metal ion detection

Heavy metal ions are one of the main sources of water pollution, which has become a major global problem. Given the growing need for heavy metal ion detection, electrochemical sensor stands out for its high sensitivity and efficiency. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have garnered much interest as electrode modifiers for electrochemical detection of heavy metal ions owing to their significant specific surface area, tailored pore size, and catalytic activity. This review summarizes the progress of MOF-based materials, including pristine MOFs and MOF composites, in the electrochemical detection of various heavy metal ions. The synthetic methods of pristine MOFs, the detection mechanisms of heavy metal ions and the modification strategies of MOFs are introduced. Besides, the diverse applications of MOF-based materials in detecting both single and multiple heavy metal ions are presented. Furthermore, we present the current challenges and prospects for MOF-based materials in electrochemical heavy metal ion detection.

A Multichannel Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode Based on Fluorinated Poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and Purified Mesoporous Carbon Black Simultaneously Detects Na+, K+, Ca2+, and NO2. ACS OMEGA 2024;9:18238-18248. [PMID: 38680364 PMCID: PMC11044230 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c10471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

Preparation of nanocomposites based on fluorinated poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (POTF) and purified mesoporous carbon black (PMCB) as the solid-contact layer of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) is proposed. POTF is used as a dispersant for PMCB. The obtained nanocomposites possess unique characteristics including high conductivity, capacitance, and stability. The SPCE based on POTF and PMCB is characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronopotentiometry, demonstrating simultaneous detection of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and NO2- ions with detection limits of 10-6.5, 10-6.4, 10-6.7, and 10-6.3 M, respectively. Water layer and anti-interference tests revealed that the electrode has high hydrophobicity, and the static contact angle is >140°. The electrode shows excellent selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility, and stability and is not easily affected by light, O2, or CO2.

Accurate quantification, naked eyes detection and bioimaging of nitrite using a colorimetric and near-infrared fluorescent probe in food samples and Escherichia coli

Nitrite (NO₂^-) is an inorganic contaminant that exists widely in the environment including water and food products, excessive amounts of NO₂^- would threaten humans and aquatic life. Developing a rapid and convenient sensing method for NO₂^- remains a great challenge. Herein, a colorimetric and near-infrared fluorescent probe (TBM) was synthesized and applied for sensitively and selectively detecting NO₂^- in water, food samples and Escherichia coli (E. coli). With the addition of NO₂^-, the probe TBM solution has a distinct visual color changed from red to colorless and fluorescence intensity at 620 nm quickly decreased. The probe TBM could detect NO₂^- quantitatively with a detection limit of 85 nM based on a 3σ/slope. Under optimum conditions, TBM has been successfully used to detect NO₂^- in real-world environmental and dietary samples, with positive results. Besides, paper strips loaded with TBM have been used to visually determine NO₂^- levels. Most importantly, TBM has also been proven to be able to discriminate from different concentrations of NO₂^- in E. coli by fluorescence imaging. In summary, the probe TBM was successfully developed for the accurate quantification, naked eyes detection and bioimaging of NO₂^- in water, food samples and E. coli, which provides a useful tool to better guarantee the quality and safety of daily life and food industry.

Nitrate, nitrite and nitrosamines in the global food supply

Inorganic nitrate provided by either nitrate salts or food supplements may improve cardiometabolic health. However, current methods to assess dietary nitrate, nitrite and nitrosamine consumption are inadequate. The purpose of this study was to develop a reference database to estimate the levels of nitrate, nitrite and nitrosamines in the global food supply. A systematic literature search was undertaken; of the 5,747 articles screened, 448 met the inclusion criteria. The final database included data for 1,980 food and beverages from 65 different countries. There were 5,105 unique records for nitrate, 2,707 for nitrite, and 954 for nitrosamine. For ease of use, data were sorted into 12 categories; regarding nitrate and nitrite concentrations in food and beverages, 'vegetables and herbs' were most reported in the literature (n = 3,268 and n = 1,200, respectively). For nitrosamines, 'protein foods of animal origin' were most reported (n = 398 records). This database will allow researchers and practitioners to confidently estimate dietary intake of nitrate, nitrite and nitrosamines. When paired with health data, our database can be used to investigate associations between nitrate intake and health outcomes, and/or exercise performance and could support the development of key dietary nitrate intake guidelines.

Recent Developments in Polymer Nanocomposite-Based Electrochemical Sensors for Detecting Environmental Pollutants

The human population is generally subjected to diverse pollutants and contaminants in the environment like those in the air, soil, foodstuffs, and drinking water. Therefore, the development of novel purification techniques and efficient detection devices for pollutants is an important challenge. To date, experts in the field have designed distinctive analytical procedures for the detection of pollutants including gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and atomic absorption spectroscopy. While the mentioned procedures enjoy high sensitivity, they suffer from being laborious, expensive, require advanced skills for operation, and are inconvenient to deploy as a result of their massive size. Therefore, in response to the above-mentioned limitations, electrochemical sensors are being developed that enjoy robustness, selectivity, sensitivity, and real-time measurements. Considerable advancements in nanomaterials-based electrochemical sensor platforms have helped to generate new technologies to ensure environmental and human safety. Recently, investigators have expanded considerable effort to utilize polymer nanocomposites for building the electrochemical sensors in view of their promising features such as very good electrocatalytic activities, higher electrical conductivity, and effective surface area in comparison to the traditional polymers. Herein, the first section of this review briefly discusses the most important methods for polymer nanocomposites synthesis, such as in situ polymerization, direct mixing of polymer and nanofillers (melt-mixing and solution-mixing), sol-gel, and electrochemical methods. It then summarizes the current utilization of polymer nanocomposites for the preparation of electrochemical sensors as a novel approach for monitoring and detecting environmental pollutants which include heavy metal ions, pesticides, phenolic compounds, nitroaromatic compounds, nitrite, and hydrazine in different mediums. Finally, the current challenges and future directions for the polymer nanocomposites-based electrochemical sensing of environmental pollutants are outlined.

Glassy carbon electrodes modified with reduced graphene oxide-MoS2-poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene) nanocomposites for the non-enzymatic detection of nitrite in water and milk

The detrimental effect of (NO₂^-) on environment, a sensitive and selective detection of nitrite (NO₂^-) ions with point-to-care device is need to be fabricated. Herein, we report the non-enzymatic nitrite sensor using a novel reduced graphene oxide/molybdenum disulfide/poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (rGO/MoS₂/PEDOT) nanocomposite electrode. The rGO/MoS₂/PEDOT nanocomposite was synthesized using facile and cost-effective hydrothermal and polymerization approaches. The characteristics of rGO-MoS₂-PEDOT nanocomposite was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses. The rGO-MoS₂-PEDOT nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was directly used for electrocatalytic detection of nitrite ions present in the solution. TEM images show the PEDOT nanoparticles with an average size of 100-120 nm are uniformly covered on the outer face of rGO-MoS₂ nanosheets. The interaction between the PEDOT and rGO-MoS₂ is evidenced in the FTIR, XRD and XPS studies, and they produced synergistic effect, resulting enhanced electrocatalytic performance activity towards oxidation of nitrite. Under optimized conditions, the fabricated electrode exhibited remarkably good sensitivity (874.19 μA μM^-1 cm^-2), low detection limit (LOD) (0.059 μM, S/N = 3), wide linear range (0.001-1 mM) of nitrite with desirable selectivity, long-term stability and reproducibility. Furthermore, the practical feasibility of the fabricated sensor is validated by the successful detection of nitrite ion in some water and milk samples with excellent correlation. Thus, feasible easier synthesis method was adopted first time to fabricate rGO-MoS₂-PEDOT nanocomposite nitrite sensor in the milk and water samples with enhanced selectivity, sensitivity and LOD.

Fluorescence quenching capillary analysis for determining trace-level nitrite in food based on the citric acid/ethylenediamine nanodots/nitrite reaction

We found that nitrite after protonation can react with amine radical on citric acid/ethylenediamine carbon nanodots (CA/EDA-CDs) to form nitrosamines, and fluorescence quenching of CA/EDA-CDs occurred during this process. Using the reaction mechanism a fluorescence quenching capillary analysis (FQCA) was developed. After optimized reaction conditions, the following results were obtained: the required concentration of CA/EDA-CDs was 12 mg/L, HCl concentration was 32 mmol/L, and the reaction conducted in room temperature for 20 min. Under optimized conditions, FQCA has a linear response in 20-500 μg/L in which RSD was less 4.5% (n = 11), the detection limit was 6.5 μg/L and the recovery was in 95-105%. The measured results were consistent with the national standard method. FQCA has been used for determining nitrite in foods and nature waters. The capillary in FQCA was used as the container for CA/EDA-CDs/NO₂^- reaction and NO₂^- determination, and realized trace-level analysis for micro-volume samples (<10 μL/time).

Methods for the detection and determination of nitrite and nitrate: A review

Various techniques for the determination of nitrite and/or nitrate developed during the past 15 years were reviewed in this article. 169 references were covered. The detection principles and analytical parameters such as matrix, detection limits and detection range of each method were tabulated. The advantages and disadvantages of various methods were evaluated. In comparison to other methods, spectrofluorimetric methods have become more attractive due to its facility availability, high sensitivity and selectivity, low limits of detection and low-cost.

The Synthesis and Evaluation of Arctigenin Amino Acid Ester Derivatives

The use of arctigenin (ARG), a traditional medicine with many pharmacological activities, has been restricted due to its poor solubility in water. Five amino acid derivatives of ARG have been synthesized using glycine, o-alanine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine, which have t-butyloxy carbonyl (BOC) as a protective group. In this study, we examined the effects of removing these protective groups. The results showed that the amino acid derivatives have better solubility and nitrite-clearing ability than ARG. Among the compounds tested, the amino acid derivatives without protective group were the best. Based on these results, ARG and its two amino acid derivatives without protective group (ARG8, ARG10) were selected to evaluate their anti-tumor activity in vivo at a dosage of 40 mg/kg. The results indicated that ARG8 and ARG10 both exhibit more anti-tumor activity than ARG in H₂₂ tumor-bearing mice. The tumor inhibition rates of ARG8 and ARG10 were 69.27 and 43.58%, which was much higher than ARG. Furthermore, the mice treated with these compounds exhibited less damage to the liver, kidney and immune organs compared with the positive group. Furthermore, ARG8 and ARG10 improved the serum cytokine levels significantly compared to ARG. In brief, this study provides a method to improve the water solubility of drugs, and we also provide a reference basis for new drug development.