Publication on AWSensors technology

Love Mode Surface Acoustic Wave and High Fundamental Frequency QCM Immunosensors for the Detection of Carbaryl Pesticide

Authors: J.V. García, M.I. Rocha, C. March, P. García, L.A. Francis, A. Montoya, A. Arnau, Y. Jiménez

Event: Eurosensors XXVIII Conference. Brescia, Italia (2014)

 

In this work we determined the Sensitivity (estimated as the I50 value) and Limit of Detection (LOD) for the immunodetection of carbaryl pesticide with two different types of acoustic wave sensors: High Fundamental Frequency QCM Quartz Crystal Microbalance (HFF-QCM) and Love Mode Surface Acoustic Wave (LM-SAW). Results were compared with others previously reported using different sensors and techniques, like traditional QCM, Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). We used the AWS-A10 research platform (AWSensors, Spain) to perform the experiments. We obtained I50 values of 0.31 μg/L and 0.66 μg/L, and LODs of 0.09 μg/L and 0.14 μg/L, for 120 MHz LM-SAW and 100 MHz HFF-QCM devices, respectively. Both the sensitivities and LODs of the immunosensors improved previously reported SPR and QCM results by one and two orders of magnitude, respectively, and reached those of ELISA.

Love Wave Immunosensor for the detection of carbaryl pesticide

Authors: M. Rocha-Gaso, J.V. García, P. García, C. March, Y. Jiménez, L.A. Francis, A.I Montoya, A. Arnau

Journal: Sensors (2014)

 

A Love Wave (LW) immunosensor was developed for the detection of carbaryl pesticide. The experimental setup consisted on: a compact electronic characterization circuit based on phase and amplitude detection at constant frequency; an automated flow injection system; a thermal control unit; a custom-made flow-through cell; and Quartz /SiO2 LW sensors with a 40 μm wavelength and 120 MHz center frequency. The carbaryl detection was based on a competitive immunoassay format using LIB-CNH45 monoclonal antibody (MAb). Bovine Serum Albumin-CNH (BSA-CNH) carbaryl hapten-conjugate was covalently immobilized, via mercaptohexadecanoic acid self-assembled monolayer (SAM), onto the gold sensing area of the LW sensors. This immobilization allowed the reusability of the sensor for at least 70 assays without significant signal losses. The LW immunosensor showed a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.09 μg/L, a sensitivity of 0.31 μg/L and a linear working range of 0.14–1.63 μg/L. In comparison to other carbaryl immunosensors, the LW immunosensor achieved a high sensitivity and a low LOD. These features turn the LW immunosensor into a promising tool for applications that demand a high resolution, such as for the detection of pesticides in drinking water at European regulatory levels.