Nanostructure-based electrochemical sensor: Glyphosate detection and the analysis of genetic changes in rye DNA

• Published in: Surfaces and interfaces 2021-10, Vol.26, p.101332, Article 101332
• Main Authors: Gerbreders, Vjaceslavs, Krasovska, Marina, Mihailova, Irena, Ogurcovs, Andrejs, Sledevskis, Eriks, Gerbreders, Andrejs, Tamanis, Edmunds, Kokina, Inese, Plaksenkova, Ilona
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CuO nanostructures; Detection of genetic changes; DPV; Glyphosate detection; Nanostructured electrochemical sensor; ZnO nanostructures
• ISSN: 2468-0230; 2468-0230
• DOI: 10.1016/j.surfin.2021.101332

•Nanostructured CuO and ZnO electrochemical sensors were used for detection of glyphosate residuals.•Measurements were carried out in untreated rye juice using the DPV method.•Considerable differences in the electrochemical response of samples impacted by glyphosate during the growth process in comparison to samples with artificially added glyphosate were found.•Samples impacted by glyphosate during the growth process have a distinct peak at 0.2 mV.•Significant genetic changes caused by glyphosate during the growth of rye sprouts were found. Glyphosate, commonly known by its original trade name Roundup™, is the world's most widely used herbicide. Glyphosate and its metabolites have a profound negative environmental impact and long-term toxicity risk, including carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, and endocrine disruption, even at concentration levels too low to have a herbicidal effect. Therefore, the detection of these pollutants at low concentrations is an important task. To increase the sensitivity of the sensor, nanostructures were used. To analyze the presence of glyphosate and its metabolites in rye juice, two groups of samples were selected. In the first case, glyphosate at different concentrations was added to the water for irrigation on the first day, and then the rye samples were watered with pure water for 7 days. In the second case, the samples were watered with pure water for all 8 days, and glyphosate was artificially added just before the measurement. The obtained samples were studied by the Different Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) employing nanostructured working electrodes. To analyze changes in the DNA sequence, a Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product obtained from samples of the first group was electrochemically studied. To confirm the results obtained, an electrophoresis method was also applied. The results indicate that the DPV signal obtained from samples with artificially added glyphosate has significant differences compared to the signal obtained from the juice of plants absorbing glyphosate in a natural way during growth. However, in both cases, the CuO nanostructure based sensor detects the presence of glyphosate or its metabolites compared to the control sample. The experiment also found significant changes in the DNA caused by exposure with glyphosate during the growth process of rye sprouts. A nanostructured electrochemical sensor was used for the detection of glyphosate residuals and genetic changes caused by glyphosate in untreated rye