Seymour Ian, Narayan Tarun, Creedon Niamh, Kennedy Kathleen, Murphy Aidan, Sayers Riona, Kennedy Emer, O'Connell Ivan, Rohan James F, O'Riordan Alan
Nanotechnology Group, Tyndall National Institute, T12 R5CP Cork, Ireland.
Microelectronics Circuit Centre Ireland, Tyndall National Institute, T12 R5CP Cork, Ireland.
Sensors (Basel). 2021 May 1;21(9):3149. doi: 10.3390/s21093149.
Global food production needs to increase in order to meet the demands of an ever growing global population. As resources are finite, the most feasible way to meet this demand is to minimize losses and improve efficiency. Regular monitoring of factors like animal health, soil and water quality for example, can ensure that the resources are being used to their maximum efficiency. Existing monitoring techniques however have limitations, such as portability, turnaround time and requirement for additional reagents. In this work, we explore the use of micro- and nano-scale electrode devices, for the development of an electrochemical sensing platform to digitalize a wide range of applications within the agri-food sector. With this platform, we demonstrate the direct electrochemical detection of pesticides, specifically clothianidin and imidacloprid, with detection limits of 0.22 ng/mL and 2.14 ng/mL respectively, and nitrates with a detection limit of 0.2 µM. In addition, interdigitated electrode structures also enable an in-situ pH control technique to mitigate pH as an interference and modify analyte response. This technique is applied to the analysis of monochloramine, a common water disinfectant. Concerning biosensing, the sensors are modified with bio-molecular probes for the detection of both bovine viral diarrhea virus species and antibodies, over a range of 1 ng/mL to 10 µg/mL. Finally, a portable analogue front end electronic reader is developed to allow portable sensing, with control and readout undertaken using a smart phone application. Finally, the sensor chip platform is integrated with these electronics to provide a fully functional end-to-end smart sensor system compatible with emerging Agri-Food digital decision support tools.
全球粮食产量需要增加，以满足不断增长的全球人口的需求。由于资源有限，满足这一需求的最可行方法是尽量减少损失并提高效率。例如，定期监测动物健康、土壤和水质等因素，可以确保资源得到最大限度的利用。然而，现有的监测技术存在局限性，如便携性、周转时间和对额外试剂的需求。在这项工作中，我们探索使用微米和纳米级电极装置，开发一种电化学传感平台，以将农业食品领域的广泛应用数字化。通过这个平台，我们展示了对农药的直接电化学检测，特别是噻虫胺和吡虫啉，检测限分别为0.22 ng/mL和2.14 ng/mL，以及对硝酸盐的检测限为0.2 µM。此外，叉指电极结构还实现了一种原位pH控制技术，以减轻pH作为干扰并改变分析物响应。该技术应用于对常见水消毒剂一氯胺的分析。关于生物传感，传感器用生物分子探针进行修饰，用于检测牛病毒性腹泻病毒种类和抗体，检测范围为1 ng/mL至10 µg/mL。最后，开发了一种便携式模拟前端电子阅读器，以实现便携式传感，通过智能手机应用程序进行控制和读出。最后，传感器芯片平台与这些电子设备集成，以提供一个与新兴农业食品数字决策支持工具兼容的全功能端到端智能传感器系统。
