Fabricating a nano-bionic sensor for rapid detection of H2S during pork spoilage using Ru NPs modulated catalytic hydrogenation conversion

Rapid, sensitive and on-site monitoring of meat spoilage is highly essential for food safety. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) a typical volatile, produced during enzymatic hydrolysis is considered as a reliable marker for evaluating meat freshness. Herein, a novel nano-bionic sensor based on the superior catalytic activity of ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs) has been fabricated for H2S quantification. The activity sites of Ru NPs were poisoned in the presence of H2S, thereby affecting its catalytic efficiency via reducing the degradation of azo dye. The developed nano-bionic sensor achieved a selective response toward H2S, with capability for on-site surveillance of the pork freshness in the linear range (0–1800 nM). A higher correlation was obtained between the H2S content and the total viable count during the 9-period pork spoilage process (R2 = 0.9633 and 0.9769). Moreover, the proposed method exhibits high selectivity in the presence of other characteristic volatiles encountered during the pork storage process. •Ru NPs with ideal catalytic hydrogenation activity were synthesized.•Ru NPs-orange I-based Nano-bionic sensor was fabricated for H2S.•A functional prototype of colorimetric sensor system was constructed for data collection.•A linear relationship was established with a R2 of 0.927 and an LODvalueB of 15.6 nM.•A higher correlation was observed between H2S and TVC during the 9 days period of pork spoilage.