Colorimetric Measurement of Deltamethrin Pesticide Using a Paper Sensor Based on Aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles

Jingyang Zhu,Yongheng Zhu,Meilian Chen,Dongsheng Feng,Lifeng Yin,Yong Zhao,Weiyi Zhang

doi:10.3390/coatings12010038

Abstract

Deltamethrin (DEL) is one of the most commonly used pyrethroid pesticides that can cause serious harms to the ecological environment and human health. Herein, we have developed a paper-based colorimetric sensor impregnated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for on-site determination of DEL pesticide. AuNPs show obvious color change on paper device with the presence of DEL. Measuring the gray intensity of the AuNPs on the reaction zone of the paper sensor allows accurate quantitative analysis. The detection mechanism of DEL on paper sensor was confirmed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Under optimal conditions, the colorimetric sensor exhibited high sensitivity, rapid detection, and low detection limit within the values stipulated by Chinese detection standards (LOD = 0.584 mg/L). Besides, detecting DEL in vegetable and fruit samples also gave satisfying results, which were much consistent with those obtained by spectrophotometry. Overall, this work provided a user-friendly, cost-effective and visualized detection platform, which could be applied to rapidly detect DEL pesticides in the food safety field.

Highlights

Deltamethrin (DEL) pesticide, a broad-spectrum systemic pyrethroid, is widely used in agricultural industries due to its excellent insecticidal efficiency [1]
We found that nanoparticles-based paper sensor has great potential in rapid and sensitive pesticides residue detection
We proposed a simple and economical paper sensor based on aggregation of AuNPs for sensitivity detection of DEL in real samples

Summary

Introduction

Deltamethrin (DEL) pesticide, a broad-spectrum systemic pyrethroid, is widely used in agricultural industries due to its excellent insecticidal efficiency [1]. Many countries have enacted the maximum residue level (MRL) of DEL in agricultural products, which has been continually raised in recent years [8]. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [9], gas spectrometry (GC) [10], and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) [11] are preferably applied in the determination of DEL residue. It is of great significance to explore a user-friendly, low price, and high efficiency to detect pesticide residues

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Discussion

Conclusion