Au2PtNPs/hydrogel based multichannel bionic sensor for rapid evaluation of food flavor

Jing Liu; Guangxian Wang; Mengjie Qin; Yuanyuan Luo; Danni Zhang; Yuan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145312

Au₂PtNPs/hydrogel based multichannel bionic sensor for rapid evaluation of food flavor

Food Chem. 2025 Jun 23;492(Pt 1):145312. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145312. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jing Liu¹, Guangxian Wang¹, Mengjie Qin¹, Yuanyuan Luo¹, Danni Zhang², Yuan Liu³

Affiliations

¹ School of Food Science and Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China.
² Instrumental Analysis Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
³ School of Food Science and Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China; Department of Food Science & Technology, School of Agriculture & Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: y_liu@sjtu.edu.cn.

PMID: 40582324
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145312

Abstract

Flavor is one of the important indicators of food quality, and the development of rapid detection methods for key flavor substances is crucial for the intelligent evaluation of food flavor. Herein, umami receptor T1R1-VFT and olfactory receptor Mor1-1 were used as sensitive elements to specifically recognize umami substances and hexanal molecules. Combining the excellent biocompatibility and electrochemical activity of Au₂PtNPs and hydrogels, the receptors are well immobilized in the three-dimensional network structure, thereby a multichannel biomimetic sensor for multiple detection of umami and hexanal was constructed. The sensor showed low detection limits of 10^-13 M and 10^-16 M for umami substances and hexanal, respectively. In addition, the sensor had high specificity and storage stability of 2-3 weeks, and it was successfully applied to assess the freshness of fish. The multichannel sensor provides an efficient and multi-dimensional analysis for food flavor evaluation to ensure food quality.

Keywords: Au(2)PtNPs/hydrogel; Hexanal; Multichannel biomimetic sensor; Taste/olfactory receptor; Umami.