Amperometric immunosensor for ricin by using on graphite and carbon nanotube paste electrodes.

Ricin is a scheduled chemical warfare agent and biological warfare agent. Attempts were made for the detection of ricin in water samples by utilizing amperometric immunosensors. These electrodes were made by mixing Paraffin oil with graphite powder and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The graphite paste electrode (CPE) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes paste electrode (MWCNTPE) were tested for their ability to detect 1-naphthol. A sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay system was used to detect ricin. The detection limit for both electrodes was compared. It was found that the response of amperometric sensor is proportional to the ricin concentration in both the cases and is linear in the range 0.625-25 ng/ml for MWCNTPE and 2.5-25 ng/ml for CPE. The SEM showed that the MWCNTPE has revealed crevices/voids in which the antibodies may get trapped. Spectroscopic experiments proved that MWCNTPE adsorbs antibodies better than CPE. The high sensitivity of MWCNTPE was attributed to its better electrochemical properties rather than to its efficiency to adsorb antibodies.