Speakers
Description
The widespread use of pesticides such as malathion in agriculture poses significant risks to human health, ecosystems, and food safety due to contamination of water, soil, and crops. Conventional methods for detecting pesticide residues are highly accurate but impractical for on-site monitoring due to their high cost, complexity, and time-consuming procedures. This study introduces a portable, cost-effective sensor system for real-time malathion detection, integrating gold nanobipyramids as sensing materials, a SparkFun Triad Spectroscopy Sensor, and an Arduino UNO microcontroller. The gold nanobipyramids, with a surface density of approximately 69.623% and an average aspect ratio of 1.65 ± 0.06, exhibit two resonance peaks: one around 556 nm, associated with transverse plasmon resonance (t-SPR), and another at 716 nm, corresponding to longitudinal plasmon resonance (l-SPR). Sensor responses were recorded through spectral shifts upon exposure to malathion. The spectroscopy sensor was calibrated to detect these shifts and integrated with the Arduino UNO for data processing and display. A custom 3D-printed casing made from biodegradable PLA material housed the system, ensuring portability and user-friendliness. Experimental results validated the sensor's capability to detect malathion with high precision, at concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/mL, offering a rapid and reliable alternative to conventional laboratory techniques. This portable device presents high potential for agricultural workers as an efficient tool for monitoring pesticide residues, supporting sustainable agricultural practices, reducing environmental pollution, and enhancing food safety.
