Synthesis of Ag/CuO nanoparticle–modified carbon screen print electrode for a non-enzymatic histamine sensor

An Ag/CuO nanocomposite was employed to modify screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPE), resulting in a lowcost, disposable, non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor designed for rapid histamine detection. The morphology, structural properties, and chemical composition of the prepared materials were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, EDS, and XPS. The analyses revealed that the flake-like CuO contained well-dispersed Ag particles, which are approximately 5 nm in size. XRD patterns indicated a monoclinic copper oxide structure in both CuO-syn and Ag/CuO-syn, while XPS results showed an increase in adsorbed oxygen species in Ag/CuO-syn. The electrochemical behaviors were recorded by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The synergistic effects of silver nanoparticles on copper oxide were evidenced by the enhanced electron transfer and catalytic activity of the sensor. The developed platform showed a broad linear detection range (30–100 and 100–1000 μM) and a detection limit of 14.68 μM. Practical applicability was demonstrated through histamine determination in wine and beer samples, confirming high accuracy and reproducibility. This approach offers a promising solution for on-site food safety monitoring. For our best understanding, this study presents a novel disposable, non-enzymatic histamine sensor based on an Ag/CuO nanocomposite-modified screen-printed carbon electrode, providing a distinctive combination of sensitivity, simplicity, and practical applicability for food safety monitoring.