Neuron-Inspired Nanofluidic Biosensors for Highly Sensitive and Selective Imidacloprid Detection

Pesticides have caused concerns about food safety dueto theirresidual effects in vegetables and fruits. Imidacloprid, as the frequentlyused neonicotinoid pesticide, could harm cardiovascular and respiratoryfunction and cause reproductive toxicity in humans. Therefore, reliablemethods for portable, selective, and rapid detection are desirableto develop. Herein, we report a neuron-inspired nanofluidic biosensorbased on a tyrosine-modified artificial nanochannel for sensitivelydetecting imidacloprid. The functional tyrosine is modified on theouter surface of porous anodic aluminum oxide to rapidly capture imidaclopridthrough & pi;-& pi; interactions and hydrogen bonds. Theintegrated nanofluidic biosensor has a wide concentration range from10(-8) to 10(-4) g/mL with an ultralowdetection limit of 6.28 x 10(-9) g/mL, whichoutperforms the state-of-the-art sensors. This work provides a newperspective on detecting imidacloprid residues as well as other hazardouspesticide residues in environmental and food samples.

Automated summary

A neuron-inspired nanofluidic biosensor based on a tyrosine-modified artificial nanochannel is developed for sensitive detection of imidacloprid. This biosensor has a wide concentration range and ultralow detection limit, outperforming state-of-the-art sensors.