Synthesis of a cerium-based nanomaterial with superior oxidase-like activity for colorimetric determination of glutathione in food samples

Enzyme-like nanomaterials have received significant attention for their high stability and low cost. However, most nanomaterials require complicated synthesis processes, limiting the range of their potential applications. In this study, a novel cerium-based nanomaterial was fabricated in a facile manner from a mixture of dipicolinic acid (DPA), guanosine 5′-monophosphate (GMP), and cerium acetate under ambient conditions. The obtained nanomaterial, designated as DPA–Ce–GMP, exhibited superior oxidase-like activity owing to the mixed valence (Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ ) of cerium ions. DPA–Ce–GMP efficiently catalyzed the oxidation of 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), achieving a color reaction without requiring hydrogen peroxide. Thus, DPA–Ce–GMP was incorporated into a simple, rapid, and sensitive colorimetric sensor for glutathione (GSH) detection. Within this sensor, TMB oxidation is inhibited by the reducibility of GSH. The sensor exhibits a linear response over two concentration ranges (0.05–10 and 10–40 μM), and its detection limit is 17.1 nM (3 σ /slope). The proposed sensor was successfully applied to GSH quantification in food samples. The developed sensor provides an efficient biomimic oxidase for GSH detection in real samples. Graphical abstract Facile approach to prepare cerium-based nanomaterial with superior oxidase-like activity for colorimetric detection of glutathione in food samples