Issue 16, 2023

Magnetite azolla impedimetric nanobiosensor for phthalic acid esters quantification

Abstract

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are a group of organic compounds that show vulnerability effects in different stages of human development. In this work, two sensitive and efficient impedimetric biosensors (IBs) were introduced and their interactions with four PAEs, namely dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), in aqueous solutions with these biosensors were separately investigated via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The surface of a copper electrode was modified by azolla fern dried powder (AZ) and magnetite-modified azolla nanocomposites (MAZ NCs) to form an azolla-based impedimetric biosensor (AZIB) and magnetite azolla nanocomposite-based impedimetric nanobiosensor (MAZIB), respectively. Determinations of PAEs with the designed biosensors were conducted based on their blocking effect on the biosensor surface to ferrous ions oxidation. After each impedimetric measurement, the electrode surface was covered again with the modifier. Nyquist plots were obtained and indicated that the charge-transfer resistance (RCT) values of the bare electrode, AZIB, and MAZIB without injection of PAEs were 468.8, 438.7, and 285.1 kΩ, respectively. After the separate injection of DBP, DMP, DEHP, and DCHP (3 μg L−1) on the surface of AZIB and MAZIB, RCT values were obtained as 563.9, 588.5, 548.7, and 570.1 kΩ for AZIB and 878.2, 1219.2, 754.3, and 814.7 kΩ for MAZIB, respectively. It was observed that the PAE blockers with a smaller structure provided better point-by-point coverage of the surface, which led to a bigger shift in RCT. The linear relationship between the EIS responses and each PAE concentration was investigated in the range of 0.1–1000 μg L−1. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values were obtained in the ranges of 0.003–0.005 μg L−1 and 0.010–0.016 μg L−1 for AZIB and 0.008–0.009 μg L−1 and 0.027–0.031 μg L−1 for MAZIB, respectively. The results showed that these biosensors can be used to determine PAEs in real aqueous samples with good relative recoveries ranging from 93.0–97.7% (RSD < 2.58%) for AZIB and 93.3–99.3% (RSD < 2.45%) for MAZIB. The results confirmed that these impedimetric biosensors offer high sensitivity and performance for the determination of trace PAEs in aqueous samples.

Graphical abstract: Magnetite azolla impedimetric nanobiosensor for phthalic acid esters quantification

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Jan 2023
Accepted
20 Mar 2023
First published
20 Mar 2023

Anal. Methods, 2023,15, 1985-1997

Magnetite azolla impedimetric nanobiosensor for phthalic acid esters quantification

M. Darvishi, S. Shariati, F. Safa and A. Islamnezhad, Anal. Methods, 2023, 15, 1985 DOI: 10.1039/D3AY00030C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements