Organophosphate hydrolase in conductometric biosensor for the detection of organophosphate pesticides

The research has developed an enzyme biosensor for the detection organophosphate pesticide residues. The biosensor consists of a pair of screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCEs). One of electrodes contains immobilized organophosphate hydrolase (OPH) on a chitosan membrane by crosslinking it with glutaraldehyde. The area of the electrodes was optimized to 3, 5, and 7 mm². The OPH was isolated from Pseudomonas putida, and was purified by the ammonium sulfate precipitation method, with 6444 ppm (A) and 7865 ppm (B). The organophosphate pesticide samples were 0-100 ppb in tris-acetate buffer 0.05 M, pH 8.5. The results showed that the best performance of the biosensor was achieved by the enzyme A with an electrode area of 5 mm². The sensitivity of the biosensor was between 3 and 32 μS/ppb, and the detection limit for the organophosphate pesticides was 40 ppb (diazinon), 30 ppb (malathion), 20 ppb (chlorpyrifos), and 40 ppm (profenofos).