Colorimetric cholesterol sensor based on peroxidase like activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles incorporated carbon nanotubes

•A peroxidase like ZnO nanoparticles incorporated CNTs catalyst was explored.•The nanocomposite was employed for cholesterol detection.•The assay presented good analytical characteristics.•The nanocomposite can be a good replacement of natural enzyme.

A sensitive and selective colorimetric method based on the incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was shown to posses synergistic peroxidase like activity for the detection of cholesterol. The proposed nanocomposite catalyzed the oxidation of 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to produce a green colored product which can be monitored at 405 nm. H2O2 is the oxidative product of cholesterol in the presence of cholesterol oxidase. Therefore, the oxidation of cholesterol can be quantitatively related to the colorimetric response by combining these two reactions. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the colorimetric response was proportional to the concentration of cholesterol in the range of 0.5–500 nmol/L, with a detection limit of 0.2 nmol/L. The applicability of the proposed assays was demonstrated for the determination of cholesterol in milk powder samples with good recovery results.

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