Putrescine Detection Via PMMA-Zinc(II) Complex Optical Chemosensor: Meat Spoilage Screening Tool

Biogenic amines serve as valuable indicators within the food industry, as they can identify signs of food spoilage. Excessive intake of these amines can potentially result in scombroid poisoning, headaches, respiratory issues, and other health-related issues. In recent times, more streamlined and rapid techniques for detecting biogenic amines have emerged, utilizing metal complex as optical sensing materials. This research focused on the development of putrescine fluorescence sensor based on PMMA-zinc(II) Schiff base complex. In the first stage, zinc(II) N,N'-bis[4-(hydroxysalicylidene)] phenylenediamine, complex 1 was synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic techniques. The second stage of this work involved studying the interaction between the complex with putrescine using UV-Vis titration and fluorescence emission titration. UV-Vis titration findings indicate that the complex was able to interact with putrescine strongly with binding constant, K_b = (2.92 ± 0.45) × 10⁵ M^-1. Optical putrescine sensor with zinc(II) complex deposited onto polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanoparticles as immobilization support was fabricated and successfully responded to putrescine. Under ideal conditions, the developed sensor can detect down to 3.59 × 10^-8 M in the range of between 1.0 × 10^-7 M and 1.0 × 10^-2 M (R² = 0.9884). Selectivity performance of the sensor towards putrescine over other amines was confirmed. Additionally, the sensor exhibited excellent reproducibility, as indicated by low relative standard deviation values. Furthermore, the proposed sensor has been effectively utilized to detect putrescine in buffalo meat, yielding satisfactory recovery rates. This method holds significant promise in the food quality assurance, particularly in improving food safety to ensure healthy consumption.