Nanomolar electrochemical detection of feed additive ractopamine in meat samples using spinel zinc ferrite decorated 3-dimensional graphene nanosheets to combat food fraud in livestock industries

Accurate detection of feed additive is significant for food safety monitoring, warding off its illegal use in livestock production, safeguarding public health, and regulatory compliance. Hence, this paper presents a cost-effective and ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor for detecting commonly used animal feed additive, ractopamine to combat food frauds in meat samples. The sensor was created by embedding spinel zinc ferrite nanospheres (ZnFe2O4) on three-dimensional graphene (3DG) nanosheets using sonochemical method. ZnFe2O4 nanospheres were synthesized using solvothermal approach, and 3DG was prepared using hydrothermal method. Various characterization techniques were used for inspecting structural and morphological properties of materials, including XRD, SEM, TEM, elemental mapping, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and EIS. The hybrid nanocomposite modified electrode showed excellent electrochemical performance, with high sensitivity of 16.97 μA μM-1 cm-2 and detection limit of 1 nM. The practicality of sensor was demonstrated by performing real sample analysis in pork, beef, and sausage which gave adequate recovery.