Bi-biomimetic systems based on nanoparticles and nanoporous materials to obtain high sensitive and selective methods for determination of pesticides and dyes

Abstract

This proposed project involve the use of biomimetic nanoporous polymer (MIP: molecularly imprinting Polymers) and nanostructured materials (SWCNT or MWCNT - single and multiple wall carbon nanotube, respectively) in the development of bi-biomimetic analytical methods for determination of pesticides and dyes. Each bi-biomimetic system will be constituted of a system of extraction and pre-concentration on solid phase (SPE), which should be used nanoporous polymer (MIP) as sorbent material coupled on-line with biomimetic sensors with electrochemical transduction, which will be constructed using a redox catalysts that potentially mimic the structure of the active site of oxide-reductase enzymes that catalyze reactions of the analytes chosen for this project. Initially, the synthesis of the MIP should be optimized, and for this, computational tools will be employed to choose the most suitable monomer for formation of the MIP and the extraction solvent for each analyte. In the preparation of sensors, which are mainly based on modified carbon paste, the biomimetic catalysts and carbon nanotubes will be used in order to further enhance the electron transfer and thus increase the detectability of the devices. These biomimetic sensors, having their analytical parameters optimized, should be coupled to flow systems in order to obtain the bi-biomimetic systems online. Additionally, a novel strategy in the development of optical sensors, should be evaluated for the synthesis of MIP directly on the silanized glass optical fibers using the polimerization technique with UV radiation in bulk. The optical system must be coupled to a flow system for automation of the methodology. Finally, is expected to develop analysis systems really sensitive, selective, fast, economical and cleaner to implement them in the determination of pesticides and dyes in food samples, soil, sewage and industrial wastewater and natural waters, in order to become alternative tools to the existing methods of analysis. For this, each of the methods to be developed should be validated by using reference methods and statistical tests of reliability (AU)