Sustainable Organic Nanozyme with an Integrated Colorimetric Sensing System for Mycotoxin Detection

Organic nanozymes and their molecule sensing system were conceptualized to resolve the drawbacks of inorganic nanozymes and their sensing system, including fabrication complexity, toxicity, and less cost-effectiveness. These organic nanozyme-integrated molecule sensing platforms offer significant potential for practical agricultural applications due to their biocompatible and sustainable properties. In this work, a sustainable organic nanozyme, the elastic polymer/acrylamide (EA) nanozyme, is conceptualized, which exhibits decent peroxidase enzyme-like catalytic activity. Rapid nanozyme synthesis was achieved within 2 h using single-chelation/polymer entanglement fabrication methods derived from organic materials and metal ions, ensuring good physical homogeneity (D90 ≤ 50 nm). The sustainable features of the EA nanozyme were experimentally validated for particle deformability and biocompatibility, highlighting its capabilities for direct application in agriculture and food environments. The antibody-functionalized EA nanozyme efficiently detects toxic mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin B1, with high analytical sensitivity and selectivity (limit of detection: 0.091 ng mL–1, 3 s). These sustainable, organic nanozyme-based sensing platforms hold significant promise for practical agriculture and food safety applications.