Colorimetric detection of bisphenol A in food and water based on the laccase-mimicking activity of silver phosphate nanoparticles

Abstract

Bisphenol A widely remains in food and environmental systems. A small amount of bisphenol A can directly affect human health. However, the recent colorimetric detection methods of bisphenol A still meet the challenges such as complex operations and the influence of high-salt solutions, resulting in inaccurate detection results. Herein, Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles are prepared through a facile coprecipitation method and have excellent laccase-mimicking catalytic activity. Under the catalytic action of Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles, bisphenol A loses electrons and further reacts with 4-amino-antipyrine to form a red substance. Thus, a novel rapid colorimetric method for bisphenol A detection is first established based on the laccase-mimicking activity of Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles. The limit of detection of the colorimetric method is determined as low as 0.222 mg·L⁻¹, which is lower than the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China and the United States Food and Drug Administration. Moreover, the colorimetric method displays excellent selectivity against other competitive targets. Further research has confirmed the accuracy, reliability, and rapidity of the colorimetric method for detecting bisphenol A in actual food and water samples, which indicates that such a colorimetric method will play a potentially vital role in practical applications.

Keywords

Food safety / Phenolic pollutants / Colorimetric detection / Laccase mimics / Nanozyme

Author contributions

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: investigation: Wu S, Chen J; validation: Wu S, Tang Y; methodology, data curation, writing - original draft: Wu S; formal analysis: Chen J, Yang Y; supervision: Chen J, Tang Y, Wu Y; funding acquisition, project administration, writing - review & editing: Wu Y. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author. All relevant data generated or analyzed during this study have been included in this published article.

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China $\left(\mathrm{32360621,32160603,31760486}\right)$, the Guizhou Provincial Basic Research Program (ZK[2021]Key Project 037), the Guizhou Provincial Key Technology R&D Program (QKHZC[2023]123).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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