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Description
Environmental contamination with pesticides causes negative impact on soil, surface and ground waters, affecting the food chains and ecosystems. It was demonstrated that various diseases in specific population groups can be related to their contact with pesticides. EU’s Water Framework Directive identified pesticides as emerging pollutants (EPs) posing significant risks to or through the aquatic environment and the protection of water resources as a top priority. The Stockholm Convention recommends such EPs, including pesticides, to be included in legislative monitoring programs (http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/ThePOPs/TheNewPOPs/). In this context, highly accessible sensors for fast detection of pesticides at the point-of-need are of very high demand.
The goal of the POLSENS project is to develop a sensor that is able to detect pesticide pollutants by two methods at the same time: optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry. We will achieve this objective as described in the following: 1) we will fabricate nanostructured metallic surfaces suitable for both optical and electrochemical sensing, and 2) will integrate them in a microfluidic cell and a standard cuvette for both small and large sample volumes. We will then 3) establish the optical and electrochemical response of some pesticides (e.g. endosulfan, thiabendazole). Next we will 4) demonstrate dual optical-electrochemical sensing of pesticides in simulated and real samples. Finally we aim to 5) asses the presence and level of pesticides in surface waters from Cluj County.
The rapid and sensitive detection of pesticide pollutants directly on-field (i.e. close to possible sources of pollution: industrial, agricultural) has a direct positive impact on life quality. The project will also establish a solid research collaboration between the Romanian and Norwegian partners based on their mutual interest and each one’s expertise on development of novel devices for detection of substances of wide interest.