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A paper-based colorimetric sensor array for discrimination and simultaneous determination of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides in tap water, apple juice, and rice

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Abstract

A colorimetric paper-based sensor is proposed for the rapid monitoring of six major organophosphate and carbamate pesticides. The assay was constructed by dropping gold and silver nanoparticles on the hydrophilic zones of a paper substrate. The nanoparticles were modified by L-arginine, quercetin, and polyglutamic acid. The mechanism of sensing is based on the interaction between the pesticide and the nanoparticles. The color of nanoparticles changed during the interactions. A digital camera recorded these changes. The assay provided a unique response for each studied pesticide. This method can determine six individual pesticides including carbaryl, paraoxon, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and chlorpyrifos. The limit of detection for these pesticides were 29.0, 22.0, 32.0, 17.0, 45.0, and 36.0 ng mL−1, respectively. The assay was applied to simultaneously determine the six studied pesticides in a mixture using the partial least square method (PLS). The root mean square errors of prediction were 11, 8.7, 9.2, 10, 12, and 11 for carbaryl, paraoxon, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and chlorpyrifos, respectively. The paper-based device can differentiate two types of studied pesticide (organophosphate and carbamate) as well as two types of organophosphate structures (oxon and thion). Furthermore, this sensor showed high selectivity to the pesticides in the presence of other potential species (e.g., metal ions, anions, amino acids, sugar, and vitamins). This assay is capable of determining the pesticide compounds in tap water, apple juice, and rice samples.

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Funding

This study is financially supported by the Research Councils of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Injuries Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Mahdi Bordbar & Hasan Bagheri

  2. Department of Physics, Le Quy Don Technical University, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Tien Anh Nguyen

  3. Department of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Fabiana Arduini

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  1. Mohammad Mahdi Bordbar
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  2. Tien Anh Nguyen
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  4. Hasan Bagheri
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Correspondence to Hasan Bagheri.

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Bordbar, M.M., Nguyen, T.A., Arduini, F. et al. A paper-based colorimetric sensor array for discrimination and simultaneous determination of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides in tap water, apple juice, and rice. Microchim Acta 187, 621 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-04596-x

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