Electrochemical Sensing of Chlorpyrifos, a Carcinogen Responsible for Breast Cancer, in Milk and Plasma of Lactating Mothers

Abstract

In view of the increase in breast cancer cases at the global level, electrochemical sensing of the carcinogenic pesticide, chlorpyrifos (CPF) in breast milk is proposed. The determination is based on the nucleophilic substitution reaction of pralidoxime (PAM) with CPF. The proposed method offers a linear concentration range of 0.002 to 0.08 μmol/L. The limit of detection and limit of quantification was found to be 0.05×10−9 and 0.167×10−9M, respectively. The offered “unmodified edge plane pyrolytic graphite sensor” proved to be a better substrate than the earlier reported modified sensors. The limit of detection for the proposed method was found to be nearly fifty times lower than reported at modified electrodes. The interference study proved the adequate selectivity of the offered sensor. The sensor has good stability and reproducibility along with high sensitivity. The offered sensor is very useful for cancer hospitals, pesticide industries, and the study of environmental toxicity‐related issues.