title: Novel reagentless paper-based screen-printed electrochemical sensor to detect phosphate.
abstract: Herein we describe a novel reagentless paper-based electrochemical phosphate sensor, manufactured with a simple and inexpensive approach. By following three easy steps, consisting of wax patterning, paper chemical modification, and electrode screen-printing, the filter paper provides an effective electroanalytical platform to sense phosphate ions in standard solutions and real samples (river water). The electrochemical properties of the paper-based platform were evaluated, firstly, by using ferricyanide as a redox mediator, proving no analyte-entrapment due to the cellulose lattice. Then, the reference colorimetric method for phosphate ions, which is based on the formation of phosphomolybdic complex, was successfully adapted to a reagentless electrochemically paper-based platform. This novel and highly sustainable configuration readily allows for the determination of phosphate ions with high reproducibility and long storage stability, achieving a detection limit of 4 μM over a wide linear range up to 300 μM. This in-house approach would be able to generically develop an affordable in situ and user-friendly sensing device without the addition of any reagent, to be applied for a broad range of analytes.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cinti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Talarico
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palleschi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Danila
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moscone
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via Della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: fabiana.arduini@uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arduini
keywords: Paper-based electroanalytical platform; Phosphate; Reagentless; Screen-printed electrodes; User-friendly method; Wax-printing