Highly sensitive label-free bio-interfacial colorimetric sensor based on silk fibroin-gold nanocomposite for facile detection of chlorpyrifos pesticide

Herein, the preparation of gold nanoparticles-silk fibroin (SF-AuNPs) dispersion and its label-free colorimetric detection of the organophosphate pesticide, namely chlorpyrifos, at ppb level are reported. The silk fibroin solution was extracted from B. mori silk after performing degumming, dissolving and dialysis steps. This fibroin solution was used for synthesis of gold nanoparticles in-situ without using any external reducing and capping agent. X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscopy (FETEM) along with Surface Plasmon Resonance based optical evaluation confirmed generation of gold nanoparticles within SF matrix. The resultant SF-AuNPs dispersion exhibited rapid and excellent colorimetric pesticide sensing response even at 10 ppb concentration. Effect of additional parameters viz. pH, ionic concentration and interference from other pesticide samples was also studied. Notably, SF-AuNPs dispersion exhibited selective colorimetric pesticide sensing response which can be calibrated. Furthermore, this method was extended to various simulated real life samples such as tap water, soil and agricultural products including plant residues to successfully detect the presence of chlorpyrifos pesticide. The proposed colorimetric sensor system is facile yet effective and can be employed by novice rural population and expert researchers alike. It can be exploited as preliminary tool for label-free colorimetric chlorpyrifos pesticide sensing in water and agricultural products.