engleski

Developing an in-situ electrochemical method for PAH detection

The aquatic environment is exposed to an increasing amount of pollution from various sources which make close monitoring and early detection of potentially dangerous substances crucial. Most common pollutants found in the aquatic environments are biomembrane active hydrophobic substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Such pollutants interact with phospholipid monolayers on a mercury electrode surface by causing disruption of the monolayer's structure and fluidity. This interaction is monitored electrochemically by using rapid cyclic voltammetry (rcv) in a semi-automated flow cell system which incorporates a chip-based Hg microelectrode. A mixed monolayer of palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glicero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and triolein, an oleic acid triglyceride (TG), in 3:1 molar ratio, proved to be very sensitive to the presence of phenantrene and pyrene with the lowest detection limit around 2 ug L-1. Optimising the monolayers to make them succeptible to different pollutants could lead to a subsequent incorporation of the flow cell into a robust system for use in-situ.

lipid monolayers; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; mercury microelectrode; flow cell

nije evidentirano