An acetylcholinesterase biosensor based on doping Au nanorod@SiO2 nanoparticles into TiO2-chitosan hydrogel for detection of organophosphate pesticides

A stable and sensitive electrochemical acetylcholinesterase (AChE) biosensor for detection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) was developed by doping Au nanorods (AuNRs)@mesoporous SiO2 (MS) core-shell nanoparticles into CS/TiO2-CS (CS denotes for chitosan) immobilization matrix. AuNRs@MS core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. The doping and the biosensor fabrication process were probed and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and electrochemistry techniques. The doping conditions were optimized. The matrix both before and after AChE immobilization had a mesoporous nanostructure. The nanoparticles dispersed homogeneously within the matrix. The doping significantly enhanced the electroconductivity of the TiO2-CS hydrogel, and dramatically improved the bioelectrocatalytic activity and OPs detection sensitivity of the AChE immobilized matrix. The detection linear ranges for both dichlovos (DDVP) and fenthion were from 0.018 mu M (4.0 ppb) to 13.6 mu M, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 5.3 nM (1.2 ppb) and 1.3 nM (0.36 ppb), respectively. The biosensor exhibited high reproducibility and accuracy in detecting OPs spiked vegetable juice samples. In addition, it exhibited very high detection stability and storage stability. The developed AChE biosensor was provided to be a promisingly applicable tool for OPs detection with high reliability, simplicity, and rapidness.