An acetylcholinesterase (AChE) biosensor with enhanced solvent resistance based on chitosan for the detection of pesticides

Sensors for Emerging Water Contaminants: Overcoming Roadblocks to Innovation

Ensuring water quality and safety requires the effective detection of emerging contaminants, which present significant risks to both human health and the environment. Field deployable low-cost sensors provide solutions to detect contaminants at their source and enable large-scale water quality monitoring and management. Unfortunately, the availability and utilization of such sensors remain limited. This Perspective examines current sensing technologies for detecting emerging contaminants and analyzes critical barriers, such as high costs, lack of reliability, difficulties in implementation in real-world settings, and lack of stakeholder involvement in sensor design. These technical and nontechnical barriers severely hinder progression from proof-of-concepts and negatively impact user experience factors such as ease-of-use and actionability using sensing data, ultimately affecting successful translation and widespread adoption of these technologies. We provide examples of specific sensing systems and explore key strategies to address the remaining scientific challenges that must be overcome to translate these technologies into the field such as improving sensitivity, selectivity, robustness, and performance in real-world water environments. Other critical aspects such as tailoring research to meet end-users' requirements, integrating cost considerations and consumer needs into the early prototype design, establishing standardized evaluation and validation protocols, fostering academia-industry collaborations, maximizing data value by establishing data sharing initiatives, and promoting workforce development are also discussed. The Perspective describes a set of guidelines for the development, translation, and implementation of water quality sensors to swiftly and accurately detect, analyze, track, and manage contamination.

A method for the rapid determination of pesticides coupling thin-layer chromatography and enzyme inhibition principles

Herein, we developed a method coupling TLC and enzyme inhibition principles to rapidly detect OPs (dichlorvos, paraoxon and parathion). After the removal of the organic solvent from the samples using TLC and paper-based chips, the enzyme was added to the detection system. The results showed that the current method effectively reduced the effects of solvents on enzyme behavior. Moreover, the pigments could be successfully retained on TLC with 40% ddH₂O/ACN solution (v/v) as a developing solvent. Additionally, the detection limits (LODs) were 0.002 µg/mL for dichlorvos, 0.006 µg/mL for paraoxon, and 0.003 µg/mL for parathion. Finally, the method was applied to spiked cabbage, cucumber, and spinach and showed good average recoveries ranging between 70.22% and 119.79%. These results showed that this paper-based chip had high sensitivity, precleaning, and elimination of organic solvent properties. Furthermore, it provides a valuable idea for sample pretreatment and rapid determination of pesticide residues in food.

Ternary water-organic solvent mixtures used for insecticide SPE extraction and analysis with acetylcholinesterase biosensor

Few biosensors are reported for usage in combination with the organic solvent due to their negative impact on the enzymes. The usage of ternary water-organic solvent mixtures in combination with acetylcholinesterase biosensors allows to increase the useable total content of organic solvents with minimum negative effects to a higher content in comparison with a single organic solvent in water. The combination of acetonitrile/ethanol/water has a smaller negative effect on both enzyme activity and inhibition by insecticides in comparison with acetonitrile/methanol/water mixtures. The insecticides were eluted from solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns with a binary mixture of organic solvents acetonitrile/ethanol in 1/3 ratio and subsequently analysed with an acetylcholinesterase biosensor and the optimum total content of organic solvents of 12%. The analytical method allows the analysis of complex samples with improved selectivity and at improved limits of detection for chlorpyrifos-oxon and carbofuran analysis in river waters and soil samples. The usage of mixtures of organic solvents in combination with enzymes is an interesting approach that allows working with a higher total content of organic solvents than each individual solvent.

Challenges and opportunities of using immobilized lipase as biosensor

Over the years, the science of biosensors has evolved significantly. The first or earliest generation of biosensors only detected either the decrease or increase of product or reactant-based natural mediators as the pathway for electron transfer. The subsequent second-generation biosensors were biomolecule based and used artificial redox mediators, such as organic dyes to detect and to increase the reproducibility and sensitivity of the result. However, the recent generation of biosensors work mostly on the principle of electron mobility, with different criteria, such as selectivity, precision, sensitivity, etc., can be used to quantify, efficiently. This review deals with exploring the scope and applications of Immobilized lipase biosensors. Generally, Triglycerides or TG molecules are either detected using Gas Chromatography or, using a chemical or an enzymatic assay. Immobilization of lipase on solid supports has led to increased stability and reusability of the enzyme in non-aqueous solvents. With better enzyme performance, efficient product recovery, and separation from the reaction, immobilized lipase biosensors are garnering increasing interest worldwide. Along with so many advantages including but not limiting to ones mentioned earlier, immobilized lipase-based biosensors come with their own set of challenges, such as the partitioning of the analyte with aqueous medium, slower reaction rate, etc., they have been discussed in the following review. Alongside, we also review the development of a new generation of biosensors and bioelectronic devices based on nanotechnology.

Dip-and-Fold Device: A Paper-Based Testing Platform for Rapid Assessment of Insecticides in Water Samples

The contamination of water and food in agricultural areas, where an enormous volume of pesticides is widely employed to enhance crop production, is a challenging reality. The rapid assessment of these contaminants is fundamental to assure water and food quality and safety, particularly for local community members. This work presents a nonexpensive and easy-operational paper-based testing device for the fast detection of insecticides (carbamates and organophosphates) in water samples. The structural design "dip-and-fold" allows us to carry out the analysis without introducing reagents or samples. The device is prepared using different high-quality papers to support the active acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the customized chemical formulation for colorimetric detection. The chemical principle is based on the AChE inhibition reaction and Ellman's method. The experiments using standard solutions of carbofuran, propoxur, and chlorpyriphos indicated satisfactory detection at concentrations between 0.1 and 0.0001 mM, and the color results are revealed within 10 min. Therefore, this technique represents a promising alternative for implementing low-cost and efficient water monitoring and management solutions.

Insecticidal activity of some synthesized 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives grafted on chitosan and polymethylmethacrylate against the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis

To combat insect pests and vectors that are responsible for high losses in food and lives, insecticide discovery is of top priority. This study aimed to synthesize, characterize and investigate the insecticidal activity of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives grafted on chitosan (CS) and modified polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). 5-(pyridin-3-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol and 5-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol were respectively reacted with ethylchloroacetate and methyl-2-choloroacetoacetate. The resulted esters were grafted with CS and modified-PMMA. The products were characterized using FT-IR, ¹H NMR, TGA, and XRD techniques. Four CS grafted ones were able to show good insecticidal activity against the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis. Furthermore, the safety of these compounds was tested using MTT assay on a human cell line (WI-38). The results indicated that compounds 2a, 2b, 6a, and 6d are considered insecticide candidates to S. littoralis fourth-instar larvae. Cytotoxicity of 2b and 6d indicated that they are the least toxic to humans. It is concluded that both compounds may represent promising insecticide candidates.

Engineering bioscaffolds for enzyme assembly

With the demand for green, safe, and continuous biocatalysis, bioscaffolds, compared with synthetic scaffolds, have become a desirable candidate for constructing enzyme assemblages because of their biocompatibility and regenerability. Biocompatibility makes bioscaffolds more suitable for safe and green production, especially in food processing, production of bioactive agents, and diagnosis. The regenerability can enable the engineered biocatalysts regenerate through simple self-proliferation without complex re-modification, which is attractive for continuous biocatalytic processes. In view of the unique biocompatibility and regenerability of bioscaffolds, they can be classified into non-living (polysaccharide, nucleic acid, and protein) and living (virus, bacteria, fungi, spore, and biofilm) bioscaffolds, which can fully satisfy these two unique properties, respectively. Enzymes assembled onto non-living bioscaffolds are based on single or complex components, while enzymes assembled onto living bioscaffolds are based on living bodies. In terms of their unique biocompatibility and regenerability, this review mainly covers the current advances in the research and application of non-living and living bioscaffolds with focus on engineering strategies for enzyme assembly. Finally, the future development of bioscaffolds for enzyme assembly is also discussed. Hopefully, this review will attract the interest of researchers in various fields and empower the development of biocatalysis, biomedicine, environmental remediation, therapy, and diagnosis.

Highly Sensitive Detection of Chemically Modified Thio-Organophosphates by an Enzymatic Biosensing Device: An Automated Robotic Approach

Pesticides represent some of the most common man-made chemicals in the world. Despite their unquestionable utility in the agricultural field and in the prevention of pest infestation in public areas of cities, pesticides and their biotransformation products are toxic to the environment and hazardous to human health. Esterase-based biosensors represent a viable alternative to the expensive and time-consuming systems currently used for their detection. In this work, we used the esterase-2 from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius as bioreceptor for a biosensing device based on an automated robotic approach. Coupling the robotic system with a fluorescence inhibition assay, in only 30 s of enzymatic assay, we accomplished the detection limit of 10 pmol for 11 chemically oxidized thio-organophosphates in solution. In addition, we observed differences in the shape of the inhibition curves determined measuring the decrease of esterase-2 residual activity over time. These differences could be used for the characterization and identification of thio-organophosphate pesticides, leading to a pseudo fingerprinting for each of these compounds. This research represents a starting point to develop technologies for automated screening of toxic compounds in samples from industrial sectors, such as the food industry, and for environmental monitoring.

Recent development in chitosan nanocomposites for surface-based biosensor applications

Recent years have witnessed ever expanding use of biosensors in the fields of environmental monitoring, homeland security, pharmaceutical, food and bioprocessing, and agricultural industries. To produce effective and reliable biosensors, good quality immobilization of biological recognition elements is critical. Chitosan and its nanocomposites emerge as an excellent immobilization matrix on biosensor surface. As a natural polysaccharide, chitosan has many useful characteristics, such as high permeability and mechanical strength, biocompatibility and non-toxicity, availability, and low cost. Due to the presence of amino and hydroxyl groups on chitosan, chitosan can easily crosslink with a variety of nanomaterials. This investigation of chitosan nanocomposite-based biosensors presents recent development and innovations in the preparation of chitosan nanocomposites in coordination with biosensors for various bio-detection applications, including chitosan nanocomposites formed with carbon nanomaterials, various inorganic and biological complexes. These chitosan nanocomposite based biosensors have demonstrated good sensitivity selectivity and stability for the detection of different types of targets ranging from glucose, proteins, DNAs, small biomolecules to bacteria. It is in our hope that this review will offer guidance for the development of novel biosensors and open up opportunities in the field of biosensor research.

"Off-On" non-enzymatic sensor for malathion detection based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer between β-cyclodextrin@Ag and fluorescent probe

Here, we developed a novel non-enzymatic rapid testing method for determination of organophosphate pesticide (malathion) in water. In principle, target molecule can block the Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between chemical fluorescent probe (energy donor) and β-cyclodextrin-coated silver nanoparticles (@AgNP) (receptor). The effects of malathion on the dynamics of fluorescent probe and β-cyclodextrin@AgNP were evaluated and their properties were further characterized. The current methodology showed a good sensitivity of 0.01 μg/mL represented as a limit of detection (LOD) and the calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 0.1-25 μg/mL. Recovery rate from water samples spiked at 3 different concentration levels (0.3, 0.4, and 0.6 μg/mL) showed satisfactory range between 83% and 101%.

From Protein Features to Sensing Surfaces

Proteins play a major role in biosensors in which they provide catalytic activity and specificity in molecular recognition. However, the immobilization process is far from straightforward as it often affects the protein functionality. Extensive interaction of the protein with the surface or significant surface crowding can lead to changes in the mobility and conformation of the protein structure. This review will provide insights as to how an analysis of the physico-chemical features of the protein surface before the immobilization process can help to identify the optimal immobilization approach. Such an analysis can help to preserve the functionality of the protein when on a biosensor surface.

Potential Utility of Metal-Organic Framework-Based Platform for Sensing Pesticides

The progress in modern agricultural practices could not have been realized without the large-scale contribution of assorted pesticides (e.g., organophosphates and nonorganophosphates). Precise tracking of these chemicals has become very important for safeguarding the environment and food resources owing to their very high toxicity. Hence, the development of sensitive and convenient sensors for the on-site detection of pesticides is imperative to overcome practical limitations encountered in conventional methodologies, which require skilled manpower at the expense of high cost and low portability. In this regard, the role of novel, advanced functional materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has drawn great interest as an alternative for conventional sensory systems because of their numerous advantages over other nanomaterials. This review was organized to address the recent advances in applications of MOFs for sensing various pesticides because of their tailorable optical and electrical characteristics. It also provides in-depth comparison of the performance of MOFs with other nanomaterial sensing platforms. Further, we discuss the present challenges (e.g., potential bias due to instability under certain conditions, variations in the diffusion rate of the pesticide, chemical interferences, and the precise measurement of luminesce quenching) in developing robust and sensitive sensors by using tailored porosity, functionalities, and better framework stability.

Covalent immobilization of acetylcholinesterase on a novel polyacrylic acid-based nanofiber membrane

In this study, polyacrylic acid-based nanofiber (NF) membrane was prepared via electrospinning method. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from Electrophorus electricus was covalently immobilized onto polyacrylic acid-based NF membrane by demonstrating efficient enzyme immobilization, and immobilization capacity of polymer membranes was found to be 0.4 mg/g. The novel NF membrane was synthesized via thermally activated surface reconstruction, and activation with carbonyldiimidazole upon electrospinning. The morphology of the polyacrylic acid-based membrane was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The effect of temperature and pH on enzyme activity was investigated and maxima activities for free and immobilized enzyme were observed at 30 and 35°C, and pH 7.4 and 8.0, respectively. The effect of 1 mM Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ ions on the stability of the immobilized AChE was also investigated. According to the Michaelis-Menten plot, AChE possessed a lower affinity to acetylthiocholine iodide after immobilization, and the Michaelis-Menten constant of immobilized and free AChE were found to be 0.5008 and 0.4733 mM, respectively. The immobilized AChE demonstrated satisfactory reusability, and even after 10 consecutive activity assay runs, AChE maintained ca. 87% of its initial activity. Free enzyme lost its activity completely within 60 days, while the immobilized enzyme retained approximately 70% of the initial activity under the same storage time. The favorable reusability of immobilized AChE enables the support to be employable to develop the AChE-based biosensors.

Marine polysaccharides: therapeutic efficacy and biomedical applications

The ocean contains numerous marine organisms, including algae, animals, and plants, from which diverse marine polysaccharides with useful physicochemical and biological properties can be extracted. In particular, fucoidan, carrageenan, alginate, and chitosan have been extensively investigated in pharmaceutical and biomedical fields owing to their desirable characteristics, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and bioactivity. Various therapeutic efficacies of marine polysaccharides have been elucidated, including the inhibition of cancer, inflammation, and viral infection. The therapeutic activities of these polysaccharides have been demonstrated in various settings, from in vitro laboratory-scale experiments to clinical trials. In addition, marine polysaccharides have been exploited for tissue engineering, the immobilization of biomolecules, and stent coating. Their ability to detect and respond to external stimuli, such as pH, temperature, and electric fields, has enabled their use in the design of novel drug delivery systems. Thus, along with the promising characteristics of marine polysaccharides, this review will comprehensively detail their various therapeutic, biomedical, and miscellaneous applications.

Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) and magnetic nanocomposite grafted CLEAs of GH26 endo-β-1,4-mannanase: Improved activity, stability and reusability

A comparative study on immobilization of recombinant endo-β-1,4-mannanase (ManB-1601), using cross-linked aggregated form (MB-C) and novel chitosan magnetic nanocomposites of MB-C (MB-Mag-C) was carried out. FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the surface modifications while, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy were performed to demonstrate the surface topology and magnetic nature of MB-C and MB-Mag-C. Among MB-C and MB-Mag-C, the former showed better activity and stability in broad range of pH, thermo-stability and kinetic parameters while, the latter showed higher temperature optima and solvent stability. MB-C and MB-Mag-C when compared with free enzyme showed up to 73.2% higher activity (pH 4-9), up to 95.6% higher stability (pH 3-10, 9h incubation at room temperature), up to 15°C higher optimal temperature, higher stability (up to 83%) in the presence of solvents and up to 1.62-fold higher deactivation energy (E_d). Immobilized enzymes were able to repeatedly hydrolyze locust bean gum till 12 cycles and generated predominantly di-, tri- and tetra- species of β-manno-oligosaccharides.

Palladium-copper nanowires-based biosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of organophosphate pesticides

A highly sensitive acetylcholinesterase (AChE) electrochemical biosensor for the quantitative determination of organophosphate pesticides (OPs) in vegetables and fruits based on palladium-copper nanowires (Pd-Cu NWs) was reported. AChE immobilized on the modified electrode could catalyze hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine chloride (ATCl), generating an irreversible oxidation peak. When exposed to the OPs, the activity of the AChE was inhibited and the current significantly decreased. The detection mechanism is based on the inhibition of AChE. The Pd-Cu NWs not only provide a large active surface area (0.268 ± 0.01) cm² for the immobilization of AChE, which was approximately 3.8 times higher than the bare glass carbon electrode, but also exhibit excellent electro-catalytic activity and remarkable electron mobility. The biosensor modified with Pd-Cu NWs displayed a good affinity to ATCl and catalyzed hydrolysis of ATCl, with a low Michaelis-Menten constant (K_M) of 50.56 μM. Under optimized conditions, the AChE-Cs/Pd-Cu NWs/GCE biosensor detected malathion with wide linear ranges of 5-1000 ppt and 500-3000 ppb, and the low detection limit was 1.5 ppt (4.5 pM). In addition, the OPs biosensor has been applied to the analysis of malathion in commercial vegetable and fruit samples, with excellent recoveries in the range of 98.5%-113.5%. This work provides a simple, sensitive and effective platform for biosensors and exhibits future potential in practical application for the OPs assay.

New biorecognition molecules in biosensors for the detection of toxins

Biological and synthetic recognition elements are at the heart of the majority of modern bioreceptor assays. Traditionally, enzymes and antibodies have been integrated in the biosensor designs as a popular choice for the detection of toxin molecules. But since 1970s, alternative biological and synthetic binders have been emerged as a promising alternative to conventional biorecognition elements in detection systems for laboratory and field-based applications. Recent research has witnessed immense interest in the use of recombinant enzymatic methodologies and nanozymes to circumvent the drawbacks associated with natural enzymes. In the area of antibody production, technologies based on the modification of in vivo synthesized materials and in vitro approaches with development of "display "systems have been introduced in the recent years. Subsequently, molecularly-imprinted polymers and Peptide nucleic acid (PNAs) were developed as an attractive receptor with applications in the area of sample preparation and detection systems. In this article, we discuss all alternatives to conventional biomolecules employed in the detection of various toxin molecules We review recent developments in modified enzymes, nanozymes, nanobodies, aptamers, peptides, protein scaffolds and DNazymes. With the advent of nanostructures and new interface materials, these recognition elements will be major players in future biosensor development.