Poly(Neutral Red)-Silver Nanorods-Carbon Nanotubes Composite-Based Ratiometric Electrochemical Sensor for Rapid Detection of Histamine in Crayfish

Histamine accumulation in spoiled aquatic products poses significant food safety risks, yet rapid and accurate on-site detection remains challenging due to the lack of direct electrochemical activity of histamine and severe matrix interference in complex biological samples. Herein, we report a ratiometric electrochemical sensor based on a poly(neutral red)-silver nanorods-carbon nanotubes (PNR-AgNRs/CNTs) composite for rapid histamine detection in crayfish.

What the research examined

The sensor leverages a dual-signal strategy wherein histamine competitively suppresses the PNR electrochemical signal while leaving the AgNRs signal unaffected, enabling self-referencing quantification via the I PNR /I AgNRs ratio. This design effectively eliminates interference from instrument drift and sample matrix.

What the findings mean

The sensor exhibited a linear response range of 1-150 μmol/L with a detection limit of 0.16 μmol/L, along with excellent stability and reproducibility. When applied to crayfish samples, the method achieved satisfactory recoveries (95.9-102.3%) and showed no significant difference compared to the national standard method. By circumventing the need for histamine's direct electrochemical response, this ratiometric approach provides a robust platform for rapid on-site assessment of aquatic product freshness.

Study authors: Duan S, Liao C, Dai H, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Wang Q, Li Z.. This report is based on the openly licensed abstract and source record and has been formatted for newsroom reading.