A disposable immunomagnetic electrochemical sensor based on functionalised magnetic beads and carbon-based screen-printed electrodes (SPCEs) for the detection of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Original Research Article

A disposable immunomagnetic electrochemical sensor involving magnetic particles and carbon-based screen-printed electrodes (SPCEs) was developed and applied for the detection of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The sensor was based on a direct competitive immunoassay scheme in which antibody-coated magnetic beads were used as solid phase; then SPCEs were employed as transducers for the evaluation of the extent of the immunochemical reaction using an alkaline phosphatase (AP) labelled tracer. The α-naphthyl phosphate was used as enzymatic substrate and the α-naphthol produced during the enzymatic reaction was detected using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). A detection limit of 0.4 ng/mL for Aroclor 1248 PCB mixture was obtained. The performance of the sensor was successfully evaluated on marine sediment extracts and soil samples spiked with different Aroclor mixtures indicating that this new and sensitive technique offers great promise for decentralized environmental applications.