The construction of a simple sensor for the simultaneous detection of nitrite and thiosulfate by heme catalysis

RSC Adv. 2020 Sep 22;10(58):35007-35016. doi: 10.1039/d0ra06942f. eCollection 2020 Sep 21.

Abstract

Several simple sensors were fabricated through a one-step method. By depositing electro-active compounds, such as β-cyclodextrins (β-CD), heme, dopamine (DA), or Fc-ECG, onto a screen-printed electrode (SPE), the successful simultaneous detection of nitrite (NO2 -) and thiosulfate (S2O3 2-) ions was observed. Under optimal operating conditions, the notable electrocatalytic abilities of a Heme/SPE sensor were detected for the oxidation of NO2 - and S2O3 2-, with remarkable peak potential differences, after characterization via SEM, CV, and DPV. Linear relationships were obtained in the ranges of 5.0-200.0 μmol L-1 and 1.0-100.0 μmol L-1 for the current response versus concentration of NO2 - and S2O3 2-, respectively. The limits of detection were determined to be 1.67 and 0.33 μmol L-1 while the sensitivities of detection were noted to be 0.43 and 1.43 μA μM-1 cm-2, respectively. During the detection of NO2 - and S2O3 2-, no interfering common ions were observed. Furthermore, average recoveries from 96.0 to 104.3% and a total R.S.D. of less than 3.1% were found for the detection of NO2 - and S2O3 2- in pickled juice and tap water using the simple sensor. These results showed that rapid and precise measurements for actual application in NO2 - and S2O3 2- detection could be conducted in food samples, indicating a potential use in food safety.