Fabrication of folate functionalized polyoxometalate nanoparticle to simultaneously detect H2O2 and sarcosine in colorimetry

[Display omitted] •FA-PMo4V8 is used in colorimetric assay of H2O2 with detection limit as 0.012 μM.•FA-PMo4V8 catalyzes sarcosine in O2 to generate H2O2 without sarcosine oxidase.•FA-PMo4V8 showed high selectivity and detection limit of 0.311 μM for sarcosine.•Sarcosine in urine is detected with recoveries range 97.8–104.3 % with CV < 7 %.•Sarcosine is detected in prostate cancer urine by FA-PMo4V8. The colorimetric detection of sarcosine, a possible biomarker of prostate cancer (PCa), is long-standing research interest and challenge. Folate functionalized polyoxometalate (FA-PMo4V8) was designed and found to detect H2O2 and sarcosine without using peroxidase and sarcosine oxidase (SOD) in 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbezidine (TMB) colorimetric reaction. At optimal condition, FA-PMo4V8 exhibited excellent peroxidase-like activity and catalyzed the oxidation of TMB during detection of H2O2 concentrations in the linear range of 0.007 to 4 μM at limit of detection of 0.012 μM. Also, FA-PMo4V8 was found to mimic SOD by reacting with sarcosine in the presence of oxygen to generate H2O2, glycine and formaldehyde. Sarcosine concentrations were indirectly detected by FA-PMo4V8 with the linear range of 0.2–500 μM at limit of detection of 0.311 μM. FA-PMo4V8 was easily fabricated and exhibited good selectivity, reproducible and sensitivity for detecting H2O2 and sarcosine in broader pH range. FA-PMo4V8 further discriminated PCa patients and healthy persons based on urinary sarcosine concentrations. This study demonstrated that FA-PMo4V8 is simply designed and accurate in colorimetric detection of urinary sarcosine, which could be useful for clinical applications.