Cu-doped ZiF-8 and calcined UIO-66-based biomimetic enzyme electrochemical sensor for rapid and sensitive detection of Zearalenone in vegetable oil

In order to ensure the safety of the raw material vegetable oil deodorizer distillate (VODD) using in vitamin E and phytosterols production process, it is necessary to rapidly and sensitively detect the content of Zearalenone (ZEN) mycotoxins. In this study, the catalytic activity of ZIF-8 was enhanced by adding copper, and the synergistic effect of calcined UIO-66 and Cu-ZIF-8 was used to improve the electrical response of the sensor to ZEN, improve the conductivity and promote electron transfer, so as to enhance the recognition ability of ZEN. Cu-ZiF-8@CN-UIO-66 biomimetic enzyme was prepared and characterized using SEM, EDS, XPS, XRD and FT-IR. The linear range of the biosensor for ZEN detection was 10 ng mL⁻¹-25 μg mL⁻¹, and the detection limit was as low as 0.6 ng mL⁻¹. The experiment result indicated that the prepared composite nano-biomimetic enzyme was an ideal choice for the detection of ZEN in VODD and showed a broad application prospect in mycotoxin analysis.