Love Wave Immunosensor for the Detection of Carbaryl Pesticide

A Love Wave (LW) immunosensor was developed for the detection of carbaryl pesticide. The experimental setup consisted on: a compact electronic characterization circuit based on phase and amplitude detection at constant frequency; an automated flow injection system; a thermal control unit; a custom-made flow-through cell; and Quartz /SiO2 LW sensors with a 40 μm wavelength and 120 MHz center frequency. The carbaryl detection was based on a competitive immunoassay format using LIB-CNH45 monoclonal antibody (MAb). Bovine Serum Albumin-CNH (BSA-CNH) carbaryl hapten-conjugate was covalently immobilized, via mercaptohexadecanoic acid self-assembled monolayer (SAM), onto the gold sensing area of the LW sensors. This immobilization allowed the reusability of the sensor for at least 70 assays without significant signal losses. The LW immunosensor showed a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.09 μg/L, a sensitivity of 0.31 μg/L and a linear working range of 0.14–1.63 μg/L. In comparison to other carbaryl immunosensors, the LW immunosensor achieved a high sensitivity and a low LOD. These features turn the LW immunosensor into a promising tool for applications that demand a high resolution, such as for the detection of pesticides in drinking water at European regulatory levels.The author also would like to acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for their financing support through the grant of the INNPACTO 2012 project (DETECTA IPT-2012-0154-300000), J.V. Garcia's Fellowship, AP2007-03745, of FPU (Formacion de Profesorado Universitario) program, M. I. Rocha-Gaso's PhD CONACyT Fellowship and AWSensors Inc. for its collaboration.Rocha-Gaso, M.; García Narbón, JV.; García, P.; March Iborra, MDC.; Jiménez Jiménez, Y.; Francis, L.; Montoya Baides, Á.... (2014). Love Wave Immunosensor for the Detection of Carbaryl Pesticide. Sensors. 14(9):16434-16453. doi:10.3390/s140916434S164341645314