Handheld electrochemical device for the determination of the strength of garlic

Abstract

A handheld electrochemical sensor has been demonstrated for the quantification of the strength of garlic. The device is based on the enhanced voltammetric response in the presence of organosulfur compounds extracted from garlic. Convenient and disposable platinum screen-printed electrodes are employed. All measurements and data analyses are performed within the device. A linear response of the voltammetric peak current enhancement as a function of garlic concentration was observed, indicating the ability of the device to be applied to garlic samples of any strength. Importantly, this portable sensor can be used by non-scientifically skilled personnel and does not require expensive laboratory equipment. It is thus suitable for application in the food industry.

Determination of the Electrochemical Area of Screen-Printed Electrochemical Sensing Platforms

“…For example, Banks et al [ 3 , 4 ] have shown that metal oxide (bismuth, antimony, and tin) bulk modified screen-printed electrodes can offer a suitable platform for the sensing of heavy metals. Additionally, screen-printed platforms have been utilized, both as-is (unmodified) and modified, within many sensing applications, for example, towards the detection of biomolecules (such as lactate [ 5 ] or L-cysteine [ 6 ]), gases (such as O 2 [ 7 ] or CO [ 8 ]), and metals (such as Sb and Sn [ 9 ]); with particular success within the food industry, a key indication of their quality and versatility, with respect to capsaicin [ 10 ] and garlic [ 11 ] which have been successfully analysed with screen-printed electrodes (SPEs). An important parameter to consider when utilising electrochemical sensors is the real electroactive area, especially within fundamental calculations of electrochemical processes, as well as providing a methodology for their benchmarking with respect to the quality control of SPEs.…”

Recent advances in portable heavy metal electrochemical sensing platforms

“…associated with a chemical reaction. 54 The use of electrochemistry for analytical purposes includes quality control, 55 environmental, 56,57 food 43,58 and biomedical 45,59 applications to name a few. These are typically dynamic processes that occur at the electrode-electrolyte interface.…”

“…On the other hand, classic (solid) electrodes such as glassy carbon (GC), edge plane and basal plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG and BPPG respectively) or highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) (and others) need to be rigorously polished and cleaned before undertaking every measurement and require the presence of external RE and CE. Through offering a disposable, low-cost, reproducible and yet easily modified platform 39,40 SPEs are one of the most used platforms for in situ electrochemical methods due to their versatility and can be applied towards a multitude of sensing devices towards a variety of targets such as gases, 41,42 food quality, 43,44 biomolecules 45 or drugs of abuse, 46 to name a few. SPEs have previously been played a pivotal role within the multi-billion dollar industry of the biological glucose sensing where they are used vital components of point-of-care devices.…”

Detection of Antibiotics and Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity with Screen-Printed Electrodes

“…Besides carbon, gold and platinum inks are also employed to print working electrodes, being attractive, despite the higher cost, for their catalytic properties, high conductivity, high mechanical strength [ 55 , 67 ] and offering some unique functionalization opportunities (e.g., chemisorption of thiols on Au, widely employed in biosensing). SPEs for detection of antibiotics that are based on working electrodes made of noble metals include pre-treated platinum screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) for the quantification of the strength of garlic, a natural antibiotic [ 68 ], and gold SPEs for the detection of fluoroquinolones [ 40 ], streptomycin [ 41 ], tetracyclines [ 42 ] and cefixime [ 47 ].…”