Novel Additive Manufactured Multielectrode Electrochemical Cell with Honeycomb Inspired Design for the Detection of Methyl Parathion in Honey Samples

Abstract

The development and increase in the number of crops recently have led to the requirement for greater efficiency in world food production and greater consumption of pesticides. In this context, the widespread use of pesticides has affected the decrease in the population of pollinating insects and has caused food contamination. Therefore, simple, low-cost, and quick analytical methods can be interesting alternatives for checking the quality of foods such as honey. In this work, we propose a new additively manufactured (3D-printed) device inspired by a honeycomb cell, with 6 working electrodes for the direct electrochemical analysis of methyl parathion by reduction process monitoring in food and environmental samples. Under optimized parameters, the proposed sensor presented a linear range between 0.85 and 19.6 μmol L–1, with a limit of detection of 0.20 μmol L–1. The sensors were successfully applied in honey and tap water samples by using the standard addition method. The proposed honeycomb cell made of polylactic acid and commercial conductive filament is easy to construct, and there is no need for chemical treatments to be used. These devices based on 6 working electrodes array are versatile platforms for rapid, highly repeatable analysis in food and environment, capable of performing detection in low concentrations.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes/carbon black/rPLA for high-performance conductive additive manufacturing filament and the simultaneous detection of acetaminophen and phenylephrine

“…A large amount of work has been reported on improving the performance of the commercial conductive PLA through either changing the printing parameters, such as printing speed [ 4 – 6 ] or enhancing the surface of the additively manufactured electrode through “activation” [ 7 ]. Moreover, additively manufactured and electrochemistry have been combined through the use of such commercial filaments to produce devices for water splitting [ 8 , 9 ], supercapacitors [ 10 – 12 ], batteries [ 13 , 14 ], and sensors for healthcare [ 15 ], the environment [ 16 , 17 ], and forensic applications [ 18 , 19 ]. This field began with printing simple discs or lollipops from commercial filament [ 20 ] but has progressed into designing full bespoke additively manufactured platforms [ 21 ], sometimes within a single print [ 22 ], and with a plethora of electrode geometries [ 23 ].…”

Optimised graphite/carbon black loading of recycled PLA for the production of low-cost conductive filament and its application to the detection of β-estradiol in environmental samples

“…As such, it has been utilised throughout electrochemical research labs for the production of accessories, specialist equipment, electrochemical cells, and, of course, electrodes [ 17 , 18 ]. Through the use of commercially available conductive filament, many electroanalytical sensors have been reported for the determination of environmental contaminants such as pesticides [ 19 ], pharmaceuticals [ 20 , 21 ], and heavy metals [ 22 , 23 ]. Due to the flexibility of FFF and the available printers, full electrochemical platforms have been produced in a single print, with any number of electrodes embedded within the cell [ 19 , 24 ].…”

“…Through the use of commercially available conductive filament, many electroanalytical sensors have been reported for the determination of environmental contaminants such as pesticides [ 19 ], pharmaceuticals [ 20 , 21 ], and heavy metals [ 22 , 23 ]. Due to the flexibility of FFF and the available printers, full electrochemical platforms have been produced in a single print, with any number of electrodes embedded within the cell [ 19 , 24 ]. Although these sensing platforms offer unique advantages, their electroanalytical performance remains substandard compared to traditional electrodes, primarily due to the limited conductivity of the filament.…”

Spark-Discharge-Activated 3D-Printed Electrochemical Sensors

“…3D printing technology is a tremendously powerful technology to fabricate electrochemical sensing devices. Specifically, fused filament fabrication (FFF) is gaining much attention these years to fabricate customized electrochemical sensors. − FFF multimaterial printing makes it possible to fabricate complex platforms with integrated electrodes in a single fabrication step, − and it also allows electrode arrangements that are not possible to accomplish with conventional electrode fabrication technologies. , Traditional technologies require specialized equipment and expertise, which are not accessible to every laboratory and hence inhibit new developments in this area . On the contrary, FFF is low-cost equipment that can be installed in most laboratories.…”