Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A nano-silver enzyme electrode for organophosphorus pesticide detection

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A nano-silver electrode immobilizing acetylcholinesterase (AChE) for the detection of organophosphorus (OPPs) pesticides is reported. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the surface structure of two kinds of electrodes fabricated with different sizes of silver powders and the interface between chitosan layer and nano-silver powder layer. Cyclic voltammetry was carried out to characterize the response of silver/chitosan electrode in the absence and in the presence of thiocholine (TCh). It was also used to evaluate the insulativity of the chitosan layer. An amperometric method was performed to measure the response of the electrode to TCh, which is the product of the enzymatic reaction for detecting organophosphorus pesticides indirectly. Although there are many kinds of nanoparticles, silver was chosen for its internal advantage in detecting TCh at low potential without further modification. The result shows nano-silver powder has better performance than usual silver powder, and the limit of detection of paraoxon is 4 ppb under optimized conditions. One percent (w/v) chitosan solution was used as binder for the immobilization of nano-silver powder and AChE, which made it possible for independent electrode fabrication at room temperature, whereas 3% (w/v) chitosan solution was used as insulating compound for controlling the electrode area. Unlike traditional organic insulating ink, chitosan is safe and environmentally friendly, and it is used as insulating material for the first time. The flexible nano-silver/AChE/chitosan electrode was evaluated in Chinese chives and cabbage, and the recoveries of standard addition were 105.11 and 96.41%, respectively. Owing to the antibacterial property of nano-silver and the biocompatibility, safety, and biodegradability of chitosan, the proposed method is safe, facile, environmentally friendly, and has great potential in organophosphorus pesticide detection for food safety.

Current response of nano-silver electrode (a) and silver electrode (b) to thiocholine in 0.02 M PBS + KCl at 0.15 V; addition of thiocholine (0.09 mM) every 50 s (↓); inset: calibration curve of nano-silver (▲) and silver (◆) electrode

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Derbalah A, Ismail A, Shaheen S. Monitoring of organophosphorus pesticides and remediation technologies of the frequently detected compound (chlorpyrifos) in drinking water. Pol J Chem Technol. 2013;15:2–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lukas V, Marta V, Begley TH, Krynitsky AJ, Rader JI. Determination of multiple mycotoxins in dietary supplements containing green coffee bean extracts using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). J Agric Food Chem. 2013;61:4822–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Farajzadeh MA, Bahram M, Vardast MR, Bamorowat M. Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the analysis of three organophosphorus pesticides in real samples by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection and its optimization by experimental design. Microchim Acta. 2011;172:465–70.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang X, Qiao X, Ma Y, Zhao T, Xu Z. Simultaneous determination of nine trace organophosphorous pesticide residues in fruit samples using molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion followed by gas chromatography. J Agric Food Chem. 2013;61:3821–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Liu G, Lin Y. Electrochemical stripping analysis of organophosphate pesticides and nerve agents. Electrochem Commun. 2005;7:339–43.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Li C, Wang C, Wang C, Hu S. Development of a parathion sensor based on molecularly imprinted nano-TiO2 self-assembled film electrode. Sensor Actuators B Chem. 2006;117:166–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Mulchandani A, Chen W, Mulchandani P, Wang J, Rogers KR. Biosensors for direct determination of organophosphate pesticides. Biosens Bioelectron. 2001;16:225–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Sahin A, Dooley K, Cropek DM, West AC, Banta S. A dual enzyme electrochemical assay for the detection of organophosphorus compounds using organophosphorus hydrolase and horseradish peroxidase. Sensor Actuators B Chem. 2011;158:353–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Dzyadevych SV, Soldatkin AP, Arkhypova VN, El’skaya AV, Chovelon JM, Georgiou CA, et al. Early-warning electrochemical biosensor system for environmental monitoring based on enzyme inhibition. Sensors Actuators B Chem. 2005;105:81–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Andreescu S, Avramescu A, Bala C, Magearu V, Marty JL. Detection of organophosphorus insecticides with immobilized acetylcholinesterase—comparative study of two enzyme sensors. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2002;374:39–45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Tang W, Fan K, Zhou J, Wu J. Unmodified screen-printed silver electrode for facile detection of organophosphorus pesticide. Ionics. 2015;21:587–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Yang Y, Asiri AM, Du D, Lin Y. Acetylcholinesterase biosensor based on a gold nanoparticle–polypyrrole–reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite modified electrode for the amperometric detection of organophosphorus pesticides. Analyst. 2014;139:3055–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Mukherjee J, Lumibao CY, Kirchhoff JR. Application of a thiol-specific electrocatalytic electrode for real-time amperometric monitoring of enzymatic hydrolysis. Analyst. 2009;134:582–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ricci F, Arduini F, Amine A, Moscone D, Palleschi G. Characterization of Prussian blue modified screen-printed electrodes for thiol detection. J Electroanal Chem. 2004;563:229–37.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Parsajoo C, Kauffmann JM. Development of an acetylcholinesterase immobilized flow through amperometric detector based on thiocholine detection at a silver electrode. Talanta. 2013;109:116–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Horst CVD, Silwana B, Iwuoha E, Somerset V. Synthesis and characterization of bismuth-silver nanoparticles for electrochemical sensor applications. Anal Lett. 2015;48:1311–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Encarnación BCM, Olga DR, Julia AM. Determination of lamotrigine by adsorptive stripping voltammetry using silver nanoparticle-modified carbon screen-printed electrodes. Talanta. 2007;74:59–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Nantaphol S, Chailapakul O, Siangproh W. Sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor using silver nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode for determination of cholesterol in bovine serum. Sensors Actuators B Chem. 2015;207:193–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhang Z, Zhu W. Controllable synthesis and sintering of silver nanoparticles for inkjet-printed flexible electronics. J Alloy Comp. 2015;649:687–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Liu Y, Wang G, Li C, Zhou Q, Wang M, Yang L. A novel acetylcholinesterase biosensor based on carboxylic graphene coated with silver nanoparticles for pesticide detection. Mater Sci Eng C Mater. 2014;35:253–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Noel N, Swaminathan S, Uma MK, Bosco BRJ. Electrochemical acetylcholinesterase biosensor based on ZnO nanocuboids modified platinum electrode for the detection of carbosulfan in rice. Biosens Bioelectron. 2016;77:1070–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Wang Y, Ping J, Ye Z, Wu J, Ying Y. Impedimetric immunosensor based on gold nanoparticles modified graphene paper for label-free detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7. Biosens Bioelectron. 2013;49:492–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Secor EB, Ahn BY, Gao TZ, Lewis JA, Hersam MC. Rapid and versatile photonic annealing of graphene inks. Adv Mater. 2015;27:6683–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Yang S, Chen Y, Nicolini L, Pasupathy P, Sacks J, Su B, et al. “Cut-and-paste” manufacture of multiparametric epidermal sensor systems. Adv Mater. 2015;27:6423–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Tang W, Fan K, Zhou J, Wu J, Ji F. Unmodified screen-printed silver electrode for facile detection of organophosphorus pesticide. Ionics. 2015;21:587–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Arduini F, Ricci F, Tuta CS, Moscone D, Amine A, Palleschi G. Detection of carbamic and organophosphorous pesticides in water samples using a cholinesterase biosensor based on Prussian Blue-modified screen-printed electrode. Anal Chim Acta. 2006;580:155–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Ellman GL, Courtney KD, JR. Andres V, Featherstone RM. A new and rapid colorimetric determination of acetylcholinesterase activity. Biochem Pharmacol. 1961;7:88–95.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Tang W, Wu J. Amperometric determination of organophosphorus pesticide by silver electrode using an acetylcholinesterase inhibition method. Anal Methods. 2014;6:924–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Schulze H, Schmid RD, Bachmann TT. Rapid detection of neurotoxic insecticides in food using disposable acetylcholinesterase-biosensors and simple solvent extraction. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2002;372:268–72.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan scientific and technological cooperation projects (2015DFT30150), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271617), and modern agricultural equipment and technology cooperation innovation center project (NZXT01201402).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China

    Qiqi Zheng, Yonghua Yu, Jian Wu & Yibin Ying

  2. Key Laboratory of Equipment and Informatization in Environment Controlled Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Qiqi Zheng, Yonghua Yu, Kai Fan, Jian Wu & Yibin Ying

  3. College of Life Information Science & Instrument Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, China

    Kai Fan

  4. The First Affiliated Hospital of College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310003, China

    Feng Ji

Authors
  1. Qiqi Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yonghua Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kai Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Feng Ji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jian Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yibin Ying
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian Wu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(PDF 223 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zheng, Q., Yu, Y., Fan, K. et al. A nano-silver enzyme electrode for organophosphorus pesticide detection. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 5819–5827 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9694-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9694-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation