Determination of Fenitrothion in environmental samples using a glassy carbon electrode modified with single-wall carbon nanohorns and zein

Abstract

Carbon nanohorns (SWCNH) are considered promising materials, because they do not present toxicity and they have good electrical conduction. Those types of materials have become interesting for blossoming highly sensitive electrochemical sensors and biosensors. It is known that zein (ZE) is a prolamin, one type of protein that is located in the maize. Even though, it does not reveal good solubility in water and toxicity. It has been used in the production of flexible and porous films. Every day, a lot of tons of pesticides are discarded in the environment. In this context, fenitrothion (FT) is an insecticide that is widely used in rice, cereals, fruits and stored grains and acts by inhibiting the enzyme cholinesterase. In this work, we propose the development of a new electrochemical sensor using the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with SWCNH and ZE, for voltammetric determination of FT in environmental samples. (AU)