Glutathione detection based on peroxidase-like activity of Co3O4-Montmorillonite nanocomposites

Co3O4 nanoparticles homogeneously anchored on montmorillonite (MMT) were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Co3O4-MMT were demonstrated to possess intrinsic peroxidase- and weak oxidase-like activity, and employed as peroxidase mimics for the first time. The efficient catalytic activity of the Co3O4-MMT NCs may originate from the electron transfer among catalyst, TMB (3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine) and H2O2. Furthermore, a sensitive colorimetric sensor for glutathione based on the peroxidase activity of Co3O4-MMT is proposed with a low detection limit of 0.088 mu M. And the proposed method had been successfully applied in detecting GSH in human serum and reduced glutathione for injection solutions.