Non-enzyme sensor detects lead, Hydrogen Peroxide

Iranian researchers in association with their Malaysian colleagues produced non-enzyme sensor that is able to measure poisonous and harmful species in industrial and medical applications.
Efforts have been made in the production of the sensor to obtain reliable and valid data by using a simple and cost-effective method.
Hydrogen peroxide is one of the important oxidants that have numerous applications in industrial processes and biological reactions. The use of accurate, fast and cheap methods for the detection and measurement of this oxidant is a need of various industries and medical clinics. Lead is a toxic element that causes damages on the central neural system. The aim of this research was to produce a sensor with low detection limit, which is able to measure these two important species.
Pyrrole/iron oxide nanoparticle composite was used in the production of the sensor. The produced sensor is an electrochemical one and has high sensitivity and electivity. Simplicity of the production method and low cost are among the important advantages of the product.
An environmentally friendly polymer was used in the production of the sensor. Therefore, the use of the sensor reduces biological pollutions. On the other hand, the sensor can compete with other sensors made of organic materials (for the detection of heavy metals) due to its high accuracy.
Detection limit, quantity limit, and sensitivity according to linear zone for the detection of hydrogen peroxide were determined to be 0.4715 µmol.L-1, 1.5719 µmol.L-1, and 40.787 µA.mM-1, respectively. In addition, the sensor showed two linear zones for the detection of lead. The sensitivity determined for the zone with very low concentration was 0.0459 mA.nM-1 while it was 2.7599 mA.nM-1 for the higher concentration zone.