A simple and rapid chemiluminescence assay for on-site analysis of paraquat using a portable luminometer

Abstract

Paraquat (N,N´-dimethyl-4,4´-bipyridinium dichloride) is one of the most widely used herbicides owing to its high efficacy and low environmental persistence. However, since paraquat has significant acute toxicity, fatalities are often caused by accidental or voluntary ingestion of paraquat. In consideration of the strong toxicity and fast-acting property of paraquat, on-site analysis in accident scenes should be effective for the immediate medical treatment.In this study, a simple and rapid chemiluminescence assay for on-site analysis of paraquat was developed using a portable luminometer.The proposed assay is based on luminol chemiluminescence detection of superoxide anion radical resulting from the redox reaction between paraquat and dithiothreitol. An intense chemiluminescence was observed by mixing of paraquat and dithiothreitol in the presence of luminol. Since the chemiluminescence intensity was proportional to the concentration of paraquat, a quantitative measurement of paraquat was possible.The calibration curve for standard paraquat solution was linear from 0.025 to 2.5 µM with the correlation coefficient of 0.992, and the detection limit (blank + 3SD) was 22 nM. The proposed assay could be applied to determine paraquat in beverage samples with a cation exchange clean-up procedure. Since the portable luminometer used in this study is small and lightweight, the proposed assay should be useful to on-site analysis of paraquat.

Diagnostic Aspects of Paraquat in the Forensic Toxicology: A Systematic Review

“…SPE C18 cartridges have been widely used in studies [22, 23, 26, 27, 31, 34, 35]. In addition to the C18 cartridges, other cartridges such as Bond Elut® LRC-CBA, Omix SCX, and Waters Oasis WCX has used by other studies [1, 3, 29]. Baeck et al compared SPE with five extraction solvents for the LLE in postmortem blood samples.…”

“…This assay was performed on the beverage with good sensitivity and accuracy. Still, it is unclear whether it has such sensitivity and accuracy on biological samples, especially postmortem samples [1]. Koivunen et al designed an assay base on Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for PQ in the urine sample.…”

“…Paraquat (N, N-dimethyl-4,4-bipyridinium dichloride) is a nonselective herbicide widely used in agriculture and nonagriculture due to its low environmental persistence and high efficacy [1, 2]. This compound, bis-quaternary ammonium, has been used in domestic and industrial applications since 1962 and has high toxicity compared to other herbicides such as glufosinate, glyphosate, and organophosphorus compounds [1, 3].…”

“…Paraquat (N, N-dimethyl-4,4-bipyridinium dichloride) is a nonselective herbicide widely used in agriculture and nonagriculture due to its low environmental persistence and high efficacy [1, 2]. This compound, bis-quaternary ammonium, has been used in domestic and industrial applications since 1962 and has high toxicity compared to other herbicides such as glufosinate, glyphosate, and organophosphorus compounds [1, 3]. Although paraquat (PQ) does not represent a severe risk of poisoning in humans during regular use and as an environmental contaminant, unfortunately, due to the availability of this herbicide, it causes accidental and suicidal deaths [2, 4].…”

CdTe‐paper‐based Visual Sensor for Detecting Methyl Viologen

“…[4] In consequence, it is urgently desirable to develop a simple and rapid sensor for analyzing MV 2＋ on-site with high selectivity and sensitivity to get sufficient information for immediate medical treatment before transporting to hospital. Several techniques for analyzing MV 2＋ have been employed, including electrochemistry, [5][6][7] surfaceenhanced Raman scattering, [4] chemiluminescence, [8] colorimetric and fluorescent dual detection technique [9] and photoelectrochemistry, [10] UV-vis, [11] etc. Ribeiro et al [5] reported an electroanalytical method utilizing DNA modified gold nanoparticles immobilized on a gold electrode to detect MV 2＋ .…”