Highly sensitive, environmentally friendly nanosensor for detecting sunset yellow in food products

Abstract

This paper presents the pioneering creation and use of a nanosensor to detect harmful food dyes, including Sunset Yellow (SY). This sensitive platform was created by adding Tin dioxide-Manganese dioxide nanocomposite onto the surface of a graphite electrode (GE). The sensing capabilities of the proposed nanosensor with Tin dioxide-Manganese dioxide (SnO₂–MnO₂) drop cast on GE were demonstrated through the use of electrochemical measurements, such as differential pulse voltammetry, Chronoamperometry, linear sweep voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and cyclic voltammetry. The investigation of several factors enabled the optimization of the ideal response conditions for the target analyte. The study demonstrated that the SnO₂–MnO₂-GE nanocomposite significantly enhanced the signals of the chosen food dye in comparison to the unmodified GE. This improvement can be attributed to the combined effect of Tin dioxide and Manganese dioxide nanocomposite, which work together synergistically. The SnO₂–MnO₂-GE system can detect Sunset Yellow with a limit of detection of 0.89 µM under ideal conditions. Moreover, the exceptional stability, limit of detection and sensitivity of the suggested electrochemical platform shows its potential applicability in the real-world sample analysis.