Nanocomposite Based Enzyme-less Electrochemical Sensors for Carbamate and Organophosphorus Pesticides Detection

Abstract

Background: The excessive application of carbamate and organophosphorus pesticides showed relatively high acute toxicity due to inhibition of acetylcholinesterase enzyme in the neural system of insects and mammals. Objective: This review aimed to assess the current outstanding performance of nanocomposite based enzyme-less electrochemical sensors toward determination of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides detection. Method: Enzyme based electrochemical sensor (biosensor) and classical (chromatographic) methods have been used widely for detection of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides. However, instability related to enzymes and complex sample preparation, need for highly trained manpower and other numerous disadvantages associated with chromatographic techniques limit their application for pesticides detection in many conditions. Therefore, currently, nanocomposite based enzyme-less electrochemical sensors are good alternative to enzyme-based sensors for many researchers Results: The reviewed literature revealed that, nanocomposite based enzyme-less sensors with numerous advantages have shown a comparable sensitivity with enzyme-integrated sensor for pesticide detection. Conclusion: Currently nanocomposite materials are widely used for many applications including the fabrication of promising sensors for pesticide detections. The promising sensing potential might be attributed to the special functional groups on the surface of the nanomaterials and their composite form, enabling them to substitute those expensive bio-recognition elements (enzymes) and used as non-bio-recognition element for detection of pesticides.