Custom-Designed Portable Potentiostat and Indirect Cyclic Voltammetry Index Analysis for Rapid Pesticide Detection Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors

Abstract

Water pesticide contamination represents a major threat to ecological systems and public health, particularly in agricultural regions. Although conventional detection methods such as liquid chromatography and electrochemical analysis are highly accurate, they are expensive, require skilled operators, and cannot provide real-time results. This study developed a portable miniaturized electrochemical analysis platform based on cyclic voltammetry (CV) for rapid pesticide detection. The platform was compared with a commercial electrochemical analyzer and yielded similar performance in detecting chlorpyrifos at different concentrations. When ultrapure water was used as the background solution, the total area under the CV curve exhibited a linear correlation (R2 = 0.89) with the pesticide concentration, indicating its potential as a characteristic index. When molecularly imprinted polymers were added, the platform achieved a limit of detection of 50 ppm, with the area under the CV curve maintaining a logarithmic linear relationship (R2 = 0.98) with the pesticide concentration. These findings confirm the total area under the CV curve as the most reliable characteristic index for pesticide quantification. Overall, the proposed platform offers portability, straightforward operation, cost-effectiveness, and expandability, making it promising for on-site environmental monitoring. By incorporating GPS functionality, the platform can provide real-time pesticide concentration mapping, supporting its use in precision agriculture and water quality management. © 2025 by the authors.