Novel Immunosensor Based on Metal Single-Atom Nanozymes with Enhanced Oxidase-Like Activity for Capsaicin Analysis in Spicy Food
Shaoyi Yu, Pei Jia, Keyu Xing, Li Yao, Mao‐Long Chen, Li Ding, Jin Huang, Yunhui Cheng, Zhou Xu
Abstract
Capsaicin (CAP) is a primary indicator for assessing the level of pungency. Herein, iron-based single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) (Fe/NC) with exceptional oxidase-like activity were used to construct an immunosensor for CAP analysis. Fe/NC could imitate oxidase actions by transforming O 2 to • O 2 – radicals in the absence of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), which could avoid complex operations and unstable results. By regulating the Fe atom loads, an optimal Fe 0.7 /NC atom usage rate could improve the catalytic activity (Michaelis–Menten constant ( K m ) = 0.09 mM). Fe 0.7 /NC was integrated with goat antimouse IgG by facile mix incubation to develop a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Our Fe 0.7 /NC immunosensing platform is anticipated to outperform the conventional ELISA in terms of stability and shelf life. The proposed immunosensor provided color responses across 0.01–1000 ng/mL CAP concentrations, with a detection limit of 0.046 ng/mL. Fe/NC may have potential as nanozymes for CAP detection in spicy foods, with promising applications in food biosensing.