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Colorimetric determination of phenolic compounds using peroxidase mimics based on biomolecule-free hybrid nanoflowers consisting of graphitic carbon nitride and copper

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Abstract

Hybrid nanoflowers consisting of graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) and copper were successfully constructed without the involvement of any biomolecule, by simply mixing them at room temperature to induce proper self-assembly to achieve a flower-like morphology. The resulting biomolecule-free GCN-copper hybrid nanoflowers (GCN-Cu NFs) exhibited an apparent peroxidase-mimicking activity, possibly owing to the synergistic effect from the coordination of GCN and copper, as well as their large surface area, which increased the number of catalytic reaction sites. The peroxidase-mimicking GCN-Cu NFs were then employed in the colorimetric determination of selected phenolic compounds hydroquinone (HQ), methylhydroquinone (MHQ), and catechol (CC). For samples without phenolic compounds, GCN-Cu NFs catalyzed the oxidation of the peroxidase substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2, producing an intense blue color signal. Conversely, in the presence of phenolic compounds, the oxidation of TMB was inhibited, resulting in a significant reduction of the color signal. Using this strategy, HQ, MHQ, and CC were selectively and sensitively determined in a linear range up to 100 μM with detection limits down to 0.82, 0.27, and 0.36 μM, respectively. The practical utility of this assay system was also validated by using it to detect phenolic compounds spiked in tap water, yielding a good recovery of 97.1–108.9% and coefficient of variation below 3.0%, demonstrating the excellent reliability and reproducibility of this strategy.

Graphical abstract

Colorimetric determination of phenolic compounds using peroxidase mimics based on biomolecule-free hybrid nanoflowers consisting of graphitic carbon nitride and copper.

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Funding

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2019R1A2C1087459) and by the Gachon University Research Fund of 2019 (GCU-2019-0812). This work was also supported by the Korean National Police Agency (Project name: Development of visualization technology for biological evidence in crime scenes based on nano-bio technology/Project Number: PA-K000001-2019-401].

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Author notes

  1. Thinh Viet Dang and Nam Su Heo contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of BioNano Technology, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdae-ro, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 13120, Republic of Korea

    Thinh Viet Dang & Moon Il Kim

  2. Research Center for Materials Analysis, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon, 34133, Republic of Korea

    Nam Su Heo, Sang Moon Lee & Hae Jin Kim

  3. Reliability Assessment Center for Chemical Materials, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-600, Republic of Korea

    Hye-Jin Cho & Min Young Song

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  1. Thinh Viet Dang
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  2. Nam Su Heo
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Correspondence to Hae Jin Kim or Moon Il Kim.

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Dang, T.V., Heo, N.S., Cho, HJ. et al. Colorimetric determination of phenolic compounds using peroxidase mimics based on biomolecule-free hybrid nanoflowers consisting of graphitic carbon nitride and copper. Microchim Acta 188, 293 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-04937-4

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