WATER'S SILENT HORMONE MONITORING: A novel electrochemical sensor for on-site detection of estradiol in water

Musa, Auwal; Honeychurch, Kevin; Kiely, Janice; Luxton, Richard

Abstract

The supply of safe drinking water is paramount for the health and well-being of people across the globe. Environmental pollutants such as estradiol (E2) threaten water supplies. Estradiol contamination of water sources is a growing global concern that could significantly impact ecological systems and public health. The latest 2020 Drinking Water Directives highlight the urgent need for cost-effective and prompt monitoring tools to track estradiol levels. Confidence in the water supply and tracing sources of pollution is achieved through water testing, usually done in centralised laboratories. Therefore, there is a need for rapid testing and portable devices that can be used on-site in the modern water industry. In this study, a portable electrochemical sensor based on a disposable screen-printed electrode enhanced with a novel material composite nanomaterial comprising reduced graphene oxide, gold nanoparticles, and carbon nanotubes (rGO-AuNP/CNT) was applied for the detection of estradiol. Constructing the sensor involved an environmentally friendly synthesis approach to enhance conductivity and electrochemical performance, surpassing conventional screen-printed electrodes hindered by passivation and fouling issues. The sensor was characterise by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry methods, with the modified electrode rGO-AuNP/CNT displaying better performance in oxidising estradiol compared to unmodified electrodes. The differential pulse voltammograms revealed a direct correlation between the oxidation peak current and estradiol concentration within the 0.05 – 1.00 μM concentration with a detection limit of 3 nM LOD. These results represent the sensor's potential for the electrochemical determination of E2.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: Sensing in Water 2023
• Start Date: Sep 27, 2023
• End Date: Sep 28, 2023
• Deposit Date: May 28, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12012983