A dual-signal sensor for the analysis of parathion-methyl using silver nanoparticles modified with graphitic carbon nitride

A highly sensitive and selective method was developed for both UV-vis spectrophotometric and fluorimetric determination of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs). This method used silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) modified with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). The AgNPs reduced the fluorescence intensity of g-C3N4. Acetylthiocholine (ATCh) could be catalytically hydrolyzed by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to form thiocholine, which induces aggregation of the AgNPs. This aggregation led to the recovery of the blue fluorescence of g-C3N4, with excitation/emission peaks at 310/460 nm. This fluorescence intensity could be reduced again in the presence of OPs because of the inhibitory effect of OPs on the activity of AChE. The degree of reduction was found to be proportional to the concentration of OPs, and the limit of fluorometric detection was 0.0324 mg/L (S/N 1/4 3). In addition, the absorption of the g-C3N4/AgNPs at 390 nm decreased because of the aggregation of the AgNPs, but was recovered in presence of OPs because of the inhibition of enzyme activity by OPs. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of parathion-methyl in real samples. (c) 2020 Xi'an Jiaotong University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

A highly sensitive and selective method for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides was developed using silver nanoparticles modified with graphitic carbon nitride. The method was based on the fluorescence intensity and absorbance changes induced by the catalytic hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine and the inhibitory effect of pesticides on enzyme activity. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of parathion-methyl in real samples.