Determination of six organophosphorus pesticides in water samples by three-dimensional graphene aerogel-based solid-phase extraction combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Lamellar Ti3C2 MXene composite decorated with platinum-doped MoS2 nanosheets as electrochemical sensing functional platform for highly sensitive analysis of organophosphorus pesticides

Precisely detecting organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) is paramount in upholding human safety and environmental preservation, especially in food safety. Herein, an electrochemical acetylcholinesterase (AChE) sensing platform entrapped in chitosan (Chit) on the glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) decorated with Pt/MoS2/Ti3C2 MXene (Pt/MoS2/TM) was constructed for the detection of chlorpyrifos. It is worth noting that Pt/MoS2/TM possesses good biocompatibility, remarkable electrical conductivity, environmental stability and large specific surface area. Besides, the heterostructure formed by the composite of TM and MoS2 improves the conductivity and maintains the original structure, which is conducive to improving the electrochemical property. The coordination effect between the individual components enables the even distribution of functional components and enhances the electrochemical performance of the biosensor (AChE-Chit/Pt/MoS2/TM). Under optimal efficiency and sensitivity, the AChE-Chit/Pt/MoS2/TM/GCE sensing platform exerts comparable analytical performance and a wide concentration range of chlorpyrifos from 10-12 to 10-6 M as well as a low limit of detection (4.71 × 10-13 M). Furthermore, the biosensor is utilized to detect OPs concerning three kinds of fruits and vegetables with good feasibility and recoveries (94.81% to 104.0%). This work would provide a new scheme to develop high-sensitivity sensors based on the two-dimensional nanosheet/laminar hybrid structure for practical applications in environmental monitoring and agricultural product detection.

Graphene-based nanomaterials as potential candidates for environmental mitigation of pesticides

Over the years, bioaccumulation of hazardous chemicals in the food chain has become a critical issue, resulting in numerous health risks. Environmental mitigation aims to clean up contaminated sites and eliminate hazardous materials from the air, water, or soil to restore the site to its original and safe condition. Pesticides constitute one of the most dangerous environmental pollutants which are generally used to increase crop production. Addressing the removal or treatment of pesticides has become pivotal in mitigating environmental threats. Diverse remediation methods are employed to protect the environment and public health. Graphene-based materials have emerged as promising candidates with exceptional properties, including excellent adsorption capacity due to their high surface area, strong hydrophilicity, and tunable properties. Owing to these properties, they have been attracting major research attention in the field of design and fabrication of materials for the mitigation of pesticides from the environment such as from contaminated food, water and other samples. Various physical, chemical and biological extraction techniques are adopted to remove pesticides. This review article provides an insight into the potential role of graphene-based materials in the environmental remediation of pesticides. We have focused on the removal of Organophosphates, Organochlorines, Carbamates and Pyrethroids present in water, fruit, vegetable and other samples, highlighting the urgent need for environmental remediation. While graphene-based materials hold potential for pesticide remediation, addressing challenges in scalable production, assessing long-term sustainability, and mitigating potential environmental impacts are critical steps for successful large-scale applications.

Ultrathin C3N4 nanosheets-based oxidase-like 2D fluorescence nanozyme for dual-mode detection of organophosphorus pesticides

Engineering efficient dual-mode portable sensor with built-in cross reference correction is of great significance for onsite reliable and precise detection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) and evading the false-positive outputs, especially in emergency case. Currently, most nanozyme-based sensors for OPs monitoring primarily replied on the peroxidase-like activity, which involved unstable and toxic H₂O₂. In this scenario, a hybrid oxidase-like 2D fluorescence nanozyme (PtPdNPs@g-C₃N₄) was yielded by in situ growing PtPdNPs in the ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheet. When acetylcholinesterase (AChE) hydrolyzed acetylthiocholine (ATCh) to thiocholine (TCh), it ablated O₂^-• from the dissolved O₂ catalyzed by PtPdNPs@g-C₃N₄'s oxidase-like activity, hampering the oxidation of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) into 2,3-diaminophenothiazine (DAP). Consequently, with the increasing concentration of OPs which inhibited the blocking effect by inactivating AChE, the produced DAP caused an apparent color change and a dual-color ratiometric fluorescence change in the response system. Through integrating into a smartphone, a H₂O₂-free 2D nanozyme-based onsite colorimetric and fluorescence dual-mode visual imaging sensor for OPs was proposed with acceptable results in real samples, which holds vast promise for further development of commercial point-of-care testing platform in early warning and controlling of OPs pollution for safeguarding environmental health and food safety.

Design and development of second-generation fabric phase sorptive extraction membranes: Proof-of-concept for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides from apple juice prior to GC-MS analysis

In this work, different sol-gel sorbent-coated second-generation fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) membranes were synthesized using titania-based sol-gel precursors. The proposed membranes were tested for their efficiency to extract eleven selected organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) from apple juice samples. Among the examined materials, sol-gel C₁₈ coated titania-based FPSE membranes showed the highest extraction efficiency. These membranes were used for the optimization and validation of an FPSE method prior to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The detection limits for OPPs ranged between 0.03 and 0.08 ng mL^-1. Moreover, the relative standard deviation was < 8.2% and 8.4% for intra-day and inter-day studies, respectively. The relative recoveries were 91-110% (intra-day study) and 90-106% (inter-day study) for all the target analytes, demonstrating good overall method accuracy. Moreover, the novel membranes were reusable at least 5 times. The titania-based membranes were compared to the conventional silica-based membranes and their utilization resulted in higher extraction recoveries.

Utilizing modified cellulose nanoparticles derived from a plant loofah sponge to improve the removal of diazinon insecticide from an aqueous medium

Organophosphate insecticides, such as diazinon, have been well investigated to pose health and environmental risks. In this study, ferric-modified nanocellulose composite (FCN) and nanocellulose particles (CN) based on a natural source as a loofah sponge were synthesized to verify their adsorption potential to eliminate diazinon (DZ) from contaminated water. The as-prepared adsorbents were characterized by performing TGA, XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, pH_PZC, and BET analyses, in which FCN showed high thermal stability, surface area of 82.65 m² g^-1, surface with mesopores, good crystallinity (61.6%), and particle size of 86.0 nm. The results of adsorption tests demonstrated that the maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity (294.98 mg g^-1) was exhibited by FCN at 38 °C, pH 7, 1.0 g L^-1 of adsorbent dosage, and 20 h of contact shaking time. The effect of adding KCl solution with high ionic strength (1.0 mol L^-1) reduced the DZ removal percent by 52.9%. The experimental adsorption data achieved the best fit with all the applied isotherm models with favorable, physical, and endothermic nature of adsorption consistent with thermodynamic data. Pentanol attained higher desorption efficiency (95%) and was used in five adsorption/desorption cycles in which FCN exhibited only an 8.8% decrease in the removal percent of DZ.

Occurrence, Distribution, and Risk Assessment of Organophosphorus Pesticides in the Aquatic Environment of the Sele River Estuary, Southern Italy

The intensive use of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) causes concern among authorities in different countries, as many of them, remaining unchanged for a long time, pose a threat to environmental sustainability. This study assessed the spatio-temporal trends of nine OPPs in the water dissolved phase (WDP), suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediment samples from the Sele River estuary, Southern Italy. Samples were collected in 10 sampling sites during four seasons. The highest levels were found at the mouth (mean value 28.25 ng L⁻¹ as WDP + SPM) and then decreased moving southwards to the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, highest concentrations were detected in the warm season (July) with a mean value of 27.52 ng L⁻¹. The load contribution to the Mediterranean Sea was evaluated in about 61.5 kg year⁻¹, showing that the river was an important source of OPPs through discharge into the sea. The risk assessment revealed that no high-risk indices for the general-case scenario were observed, but for the worst-case scenario, potential risks were associated with chlorpyrifos, pyrimifos-methyl, and parathion, suggesting that OPP contamination should not be neglected. This study makes up the first record of OPPs in the surface waters of the Sele River and provides helpful data as a starting point for future studies.

Development of a SPE/GC-MS method for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in food samples using syringe filters packed by GNP/MIL-101(Cr) nanocomposite

In this study, we report the synthesis and application of a nanocomposite comprising metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr) and graphene nanopowder (GNP) as a promising sorbent for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in juices, water, vegetables and honey samples. A syringe filter, for the first time, was used to host the synthesized nanocomposite and extract the OPPs followed by GC-MS analysis. Different characterization methods including XRD, FTIR, TGA, BET and SEM were employed to confirm the formation of studied nanocomposite. The results indicated that the GNP/MIL-101(Cr) could provide higher capacity for adsorption of OPPs and lower detection limit compared to pristine MIL-101(Cr). The detection limits were 0.005 to 15.0 µg/Kg and the linear range found between 0.05 and 400 µg/Kg. The proposed method showed very good repeatability with the RSD values ranging from 2.9% to 7.1%. The recoveries were between 84% -110% with the spiked levels of 2.0-100.0 µg/Kg.

Fabrication of Co3O4 quantum dot incorporated polyacrylamide ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a new fiber for solid phase microextraction and trace determination of organophosphorus pesticides in environmental water samples

In this paper, a novel solid phase microextraction fiber based on Co₃O₄ quantum dot incorporated polyacrylamide-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate followed by corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry is presented for the trace determination of organophosphorus pesticides in environmental water samples. Ion mobility spectrometry is a comparatively inexpensive, well-known, robust, and easy to operate analytical instrument. This combination would provide a low-cost, fast, selective, and sensitive quantitative system for detection of organophosphorus pesticides. In order to obtain the best extraction efficiency, the optimization of parameters affecting this method was carried out. After optimization, a solution pH of 7.0, extraction temperature of 60 °C, adsorption temperature of 260 °C, extraction time of 30 min, stirring speed of 750 rpm, and ionic strength of 10% w/w were obtained. Consequently, the presented method showed low limits of detection (0.3-0.6 ng mL^-1), excellent enrichment factors (PF = 221-263), good linearity (R² > 0.995), and repeatabilities (intra-day: 3.4 to 4.8%) and (inter-day: 4.7 to 6.1%). The reproducibility (RSD% of fiber to fiber) was also investigated by analyzing three as-prepared fibers under the same conditions and was found to be less than 7.6%. Finally, the developed fiber was used for determination of organophosphorus pesticides in the field samples.

[Recent advance of new sample preparation materials in the analysis and detection of environmental pollutants]

针对复杂样品的分析和痕量目标物的检测,样品前处理是必不可少的,高效的样品前处理技术不仅可以去除或减小样品基质干扰而且能够实现分析物的富集,提高分析检测的准确性和灵敏度。近年来,固相萃取、磁分散固相萃取、枪头固相萃取、搅拌棒萃取、固相微萃取等高效的样品前处理技术已在环境污染物分析检测中获得广泛关注,萃取效率主要取决于萃取材料,所以新型的高效萃取材料一直是样品前处理研究领域的重要发展方向。该文总结和讨论了近年来新型样品前处理材料在环境污染物分析检测中的研究进展,主要聚焦在石墨烯、氧化石墨烯、碳纳米管、无机气凝胶、有机气凝胶、三嗪基功能材料、三嗪基聚合物、分子印迹聚合物、共价有机框架材料、金属有机框架材料以及它们的功能化萃取材料等。这些材料已经被应用于环境样品中不同类别污染物的萃取富集,如重金属离子、多环芳烃、塑化剂、烷烃、苯酚、氯酚、氯苯、多溴联苯醚、全氟磺酸、全氟羧酸、雌激素、药物残留、农药残留等。这些样品前处理材料具有高的表面积、大量的吸附位点,并涉及多种萃取机理如π-π、静电、疏水、亲水、氢键、卤键等相互作用。基于这些萃取材料的多种样品前处理技术与各类检测方法如色谱、质谱、原子吸收光谱、荧光光谱、离子迁移谱等相结合,已广泛应用于环境污染物的高灵敏分析检测。最后,该文总结了样品前处理发展中存在的问题,并展望了其未来在环境分析中的发展趋势。

In situ growth of copper-based metal-organic framework on a helical shape copper wire as a sorbent in stir-bar sorptive extraction of fenthion followed by corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry

In this paper, a helical copper wire, coated with copper-benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid metal-organic framework (Cu-BDC) was used as a sorbent for stir-bar sorptive extraction of fenthion from water and fruit samples. The homogenous coating was fabricated through two simple and fast steps. The chemical conversion of copper substrate to copper hydroxide nanotubes (Cu(OH)₂ NTs) was performed in an alkaline solution and then Cu-BDC was formed through a neutralization reaction. Corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry in positive mode was applied for the detection of fenthion. To improve the sensitivity of the method, some synthesis and extraction parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid concentration, ionic strength, sample pH, stirring rate, extraction temperature, and extraction time were investigated. The linear dynamic range between 0.5 and 80 μg L^-1 and detection limit of 0.1 μg L^-1 were obtained under optimal conditions. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were less than 6.4 and 8.6%, respectively. The applicability of the method was examined for the analysis of different samples (i.e., well water, agricultural wastewater, and orange). The recovery for the determination of fenthion in spiked samples varied from 88 to 111%.

Three dimensional graphene materials doped with heteroatoms for extraction and adsorption of environmental pollutants in wastewater

Environmental pollution by heavy metal ions, organic pollutants, oils, pesticides or dyes is a ubiquitous problem adversely affecting human health and environmental ecology. Development and application novel adsorbents in full-scale treatment systems with effectiveness properties could effective ways to facilitate the extraction and adsorption of environment pollutants from wastewater. Graphene materials have drawn much attention due to their extraordinary electron mobilities, high surface areas, good thermal conductivities, and excellent mechanical properties. Three-dimensional graphene materials can provide the inherent advantages of 2D graphene sheets and exhibit micro/nanoporous structures, increased specific surface areas, high electron conductivities, fast mass transport kinetics, and strong mechanical strength. Potential applications for 3D graphene materials include environmental remediation, chemical and biological sensing, catalysis, and super capacitors. Recent advances in the applications of 3D functionalized graphene materials (3D FGMs) doped with heteroatoms for the extraction and adsorption of environmental pollutants in wastewater are summarized in this review.

Immobilization of synthesized phenyl-enriched magnetic nanoparticles in a fabricated Y-Y shaped micro-channel containing microscaled hedges as a microextraction platform

In this survey, a reliable and applicable Y-Y shaped micro-channel in a microfluidic device was designed and manufactured. A number of micro-scaled hedges were precisely fabricated inside the micro-channel to facilitate the immobilization of synthesized core-shell Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), functionalized by triethoxyphenylsilane (TEPS) by sol-gel technique. Both sample and reagents were introduced into the microfluidic device by a syringe pump to perform the extraction and desorption steps. The functionalized MNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. By adopting the strategy of extraction-on-chip using this microfluidic device, we were benefited from implementing the entire analyses with the minimum amount of desorbing solvent, MNPs, and aqueous/fruit juice samples. In contrast to dispersive solid phase extraction, dispersion of MNPs during experiment is prevented by fabrication of micro-scaled hedges in the micro-channel. Consequently the stabilized MNPs are reused for the entire runs. The microfluidic device was successfully exploited as an efficient extracting plateau to evaluate the extraction/desorption capability in analysis of some organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) as model compounds. Our results indicate that the functionalization of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ with TEPS, improved their extraction capability due to the existence of phenyl and hydroxyl groups for more efficient π-π and hydrogen bonding interactions. Eventually, μL-scale of the organic solvent was injected into a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system. The limits of detection (3S_b) and quantification (10S_b) for the OPPs were 0.03-0.1 and 0.1-0.35 ng mL^-1, respectively. In addition, the interday and intraday precisions were lower than 5.3% (n = 3). The obtained recovery was 95-99% for water samples and 88-96% for fruit juice samples while satisfactory regression coefficients of 0.9949-0.9991, could be achieved.

Solid-phase extraction using chloropropyl functionalized sol-gel hybrid sorbent for simultaneous determination of organophosphorus pesticides in selected fruit samples

A new sol-gel hybrid methyltrimethoxysilane-chloropropyltriethoxysilane was prepared as sorbent for solid-phase extraction. The extraction efficiency of the prepared sol-gel hybrid methyltrimethoxysilane-chloropropyltriethoxysilane was assessed by using three selected organophosphorus pesticides, namely, chlorpyrifos, profenofos, and malathion. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used for detection of organophosphorus pesticides. Several vital parameters were optimized to identify the best extraction conditions. Under the optimum extraction conditions, solid-phase extraction-methyltrimethoxysilane-chloropropyltriethoxysilane method showed good linearity range (0.05-1 μg/mL) with coefficient of determination more than 0.995. The limits of detection obtained were in the range of 0.01-0.07 μg/mL and limits of quantification ranging from 0.03 to 0.21 μg/mL. The limits of detection obtained for the developed method were 2.3-6.5× lower than the limits of detection of commercial octadecyl silica sorbent. Real samples analysis was carried out by applying the developed method on red apple and purple grape samples. The developed method exhibited good recoveries (88.33-120.7%) with low relative standard deviations ranging from 1.6 to 3.3% compared to commercial octadecyl silica sorbent, which showed acceptable recoveries (70.3-100.2%) and relative standard deviations (6.3-8.8%). The solid-phase extraction-methyltrimethoxysilane-chloropropyltriethoxysilane method is presented as an alternative extraction method for determination of organophosphorus pesticides.

Three-dimensional chitosan/graphene oxide aerogel for high-efficiency solid-phase extraction of acidic herbicides in vegetables

A simple, facile method was adopted to synthesize three-dimensional chitosan grafted graphene oxide aerogel modified silica (3D CS/GOA@Sil) as an eco-friendly, sustainable extraction material for the preconcentration of phenoxy acid herbicides.

A simple spectroscopic method to determine dimethoate in water samples by complex formation

A simple and rapid method for the determination of dimethoate in water was developed based on the monitoring of the complex formation between bis 5-phenyldipyrrinate of nickel (II) and the herbicide dimethoate. The method showed a short response time (10 s), high selectivity (very low interference from other sulfate and salts), high sensitivity (limit of detection (LOD) 0.45 µM, limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 1.39 µM), and a K_d of 2.4 µM. Stoichiometry experiments showed that complex formation occurred with a 1:1 relation. The method was applied to different environmental water samples such as lagoon, stream, urban, and groundwater samples. The results indicated that independently from the water source, the method exhibited high precision (0.25-2.47% variation coefficient) and accuracy (84.42-115.68% recovery). In addition, the method was also tested using an effluent from a wastewater treatment plant from Mexico; however, the results indicated that the presence of organic matter had a pronounced effect on the detection.

Applications of three-dimensional graphenes for preconcentration, extraction, and sorption of chemical species: a review

This review (with 115 refs) summarizes applications of 3-dimensional graphene (3DGs) and its derivatives in the fields of preconcentration, extraction, and sorption. Following an introduction into the field (including a definition of the materials treated here), the properties and synthetic strategies for 3DGs are described. The next section covers applications of 3DG-based adsorbents in solid phase extraction of organic species including drugs, phthalate esters, chlorophenols, aflatoxins, insecticides, and pesticides. Another section treats applications of 3DGs in solid phase microextraction of species such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, and pesticides. We also describe how the efficiency of assays may be improved by using these materials as a sorbent. A final section covers conclusions and perspectives. Graphical abstract Graphical abstract contains poor quality and small text inside the artwork. Please do not re-use the file that we have rejected or attempt to increase its resolution and re-save. It is originally poor, therefore, increasing the resolution will not solve the quality problem. We suggest that you provide us the original format. We prefer replacement figures containing vector/editable objects rather than embedded images. Preferred file formats are eps, ai, tiff and pdf.Tiff file of graphical abstract was attached. Schematic presentation of synthesis of three-dimensional graphene (3DG) from two-dimensional graphene (2DG) with self-assembly, template-assisted and direct deposition methods. Application of 3DG-based nanoadsorbents in direct immersion-solid phase microextraction (DI-SPME), headspace-SPME (HS-SPME), magnetic-solid phase extraction (Magnetic-SPE), dispersive-SPE, and magnetic sheet-SPE.

Rapid detection of trichlorfon residues by a microfluidic paper-based phosphorus-detection chip (μPPC)

We propose a novel microfluidic paper-based phosphorus-detection chip (μPPC) for rapid analysis of trichlorfon, one of the most common organophosphate pesticide residues.