A novel bromelain-MnO2 biosensor for colorimetric determination of dopamine

We report a method for determining dopamine in serum via colorimetric sensing. This new method adopts bromelain-templated MnO2 nanosheets that possess high oxidase activity. 3,3 ',5,5 '-Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) can be directly oxidized by bromelain-MnO2 nanosheets to oxTMB products. Without dopamine, the absorbance at 652 nm (A(652)) of oxTMB products is significantly enhanced. Upon the addition of dopamine, oxidase activity is markedly inhibited because the lamellar structure decomposes to generate Mn2+ ions, and the A(652) value gradually decreases. Moreover, the oxidation process of dopamine can be accelerated by Mn2+ ions, and the two hydroxyl groups on the annulated benzene of dopamine can be oxidized to form a light pink benzoquinone compound. Therefore, an economical, visual colorimetric sensing method was developed for the determination of dopamine. When the concentration of dopamine is between 100 nM and 10.0 mu M, there is a linear relationship between the A(652) value and the dopamine concentration. The limit of detection (LOD) was 39.8 nM. The colorimetric sensing was successfully utilized in blank spike experiments with human serum samples and fetal bovine serum samples, and the dopamine content in human serum samples could be quantitatively and accurately determined.

Automated summary

A new colorimetric sensing method for determining dopamine in serum was developed using bromelain-templated MnO2 nanosheets. The method showed a linear relationship between absorbance values and dopamine concentrations in the range of 100 nM to 10.0 μM, with a limit of detection of 39.8 nM. This method was successfully applied in experiments with human serum samples and could accurately quantify dopamine content.