A paper-based colorimetric sensor array for discrimination of monofloral European honeys based on gold nanoparticles and chemometrics data analysis

ABSTRACT A sensitive and simple nanomaterial based colorimetric sensor array (NBCSA) was developed for discrimination of monofloral honey from various European countries based on three botanical origins as Acacia, Canola and Honeydew. The NBCSA was designed by spotting gold (AuNPs) and silver (AgNPs) nanoparticles synthesized using six different reducing and/or capping agents. The colour intensity of AuNPs represented differential changes when interacted with volatile organic compounds appeared in the headspace of the honey samples. The color difference maps, which are calculated as the difference between color intensity of the sensor before and after exposing to the sample vapors, was used as a fingerprint to discriminate the honey samples based on botanical origin. Classification was achieved utilizing data pre-processing and chemometrics data analysis. Fitting accuracies of 88% and 86% were obtained by partial least squares discriminant analysis and linear discriminant analysis whereas 100% was achieved using support vector machine.