Obtention of improved electrochemical sensors by modifying 3D printed electrodes with biofilms obtained from beeswax and carbon nanomaterials for the detection of harmful compounds in honey

Abstract

The use of pesticides has been increasingly used in crop cultivation. Despite their effectiveness, these compounds are highly harmful to human and animal health, and have contaminated living beings that have direct contact with plants, such as bees, causing damage to health or even leading to death. In addition to direct contamination, the consumption of products from bees, such as honey, can be a source of human contamination by pesticides, and the determination of these compounds in honey can be a way of controlling the use of pesticides. In this aspect, reliable, fast and low-cost analysis techniques are of great interest, especially electrochemical techniques. The use of 3D printing technology has been increasingly explored to obtain versatile and low-cost electrochemical sensors in a simple way, in the laboratory. The use of these sensors can be a great differential due to the ease of obtaining, potential for portability of systems or even creation of wearable sensors due to their versatility in design and material used. Obtaining chemically modified electrodes becomes very attractive in obtaining improved sensors, especially when it involves the use of environmentally friendly materials in the formation of carbon-based thin films. Therefore, in this project, we intend to use beeswax as a base material for electrode modification, obtaining improved sensors used in the detection of contaminants in honey samples. (AU)