Mohssen Morowati*

Pesticides Research Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, I.R. Iran

*Corresponding Author: Mohssen Morowati, Pesticides Research Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, I.R. Iran.

Received: December 19, 2023; Published: January 17, 2023

Abstract

Dramatic increase in pesticide use in agriculture necessitates continuous monitoring and tracking of their residues on the products on the spot to assure the safety of the consumers. At present measurement of pesticide residues on agricultural products is time consuming and costly. Therefore, quick, on-site, simple and cheap methods of measurement of the pesticide residue levels is necessary. In this research by making a paper-based bio-sensor a fast, easy and cheap method to detect organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides by inhibiting the activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase was established. The sensor is a device composed of a foldable polyethylene sheet with two separate detection sheets one containing acetylcholinesterase and the other Indoxyl acetate as the substrate prepared and fixed on the strip. Hydrolysis of Indoxyl acetate by the enzyme causes formation of blue color in the test zone and the absence or reduction of the blue color formed indicates the presence of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides in the sample. By incubating the sample, enzyme and the substrate on the test zone for 10 minutes there will be color formation on the zone. The absence or decrease in the color formed makes it possible to visually determine whether there is any pesticide residue in the sample. The results obtained by using six concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10 and 25 ppm) of the pesticides Diazinon, Trichlorfon, Carbofuran and Pirimicarb spiked into organic lettuce and rice samples indicate good performance of this bio-sensor for the detection of the residue of the four pesticides under test. The limit of detection (LOD) estimated to be 0.5, 0.1, 0.1 and 0.1 ppm in lettuce and 0.1, 0.1, 0.1 and 0.1 ppm in rice for Diazinon, Trichlorfon, Carbofuran and Pirimicarb respectively. In experiments performed on lettuce and rice samples with unknown levels of pesticide contamination, a comparison was made with the measurement of pesticides residue by the bio-sensor and the liquid chromatography equipment (LC-MS/MS) simultaneously. The results obtained visually by the paper sensor showed high sensitivity and good reproducibility compared with the results obtained by the LC-MS/MS, and it can be acknowledged that the paper-based bio-sensor impregnated with acetylcholinesterase can be a quick, cheap, easy to use, on-site and outside the laboratory alternate method for monitoring and measuring organophosphorus and carbamate pesticide residues in agricultural products.

Keywords: Pesticide Residue; Bio-Sensor; Acetylcholinesterase; Quick and On-Site Method; Organophosphates; Carbamates

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Citation

Citation: Mohssen Morowati. “Acetylcholinesterase-Based Paper Bio-Sensor Assay for the Quick, Cheap and On-Site Detection of Organophosphorus and Carbamate Pesticides in Agricultural Products for the First Time in Iran". Acta Scientific Agriculture 8.2 (2024): 38-51.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Mohssen Morowati. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.