Review Nanomaterial-based biosensors for environmental and biological monitoring of organophosphorus pesticides and nerve agents Weiying Zhang a , Abdullah Mohamed Asiri b , Deli Liu a , Dan Du a,c,⇑ , Yuehe Lin b,c a Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, PR China b Chemistry Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia c School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA article info Article history: Available online 1 December 2013 Keywords: Biological monitoring Biosensor Electrochemical detection Environmental monitoring Health monitoring Immunoassay detection Nanomaterial Nerve agent Organophosphorus pesticide Pesticide analysis abstract Due to the large amounts of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides commonly used and their impact on the environment and health, it is important to develop a prompt, accurate method of pesticide analysis. This review gives an overview of recent advances and new trends in nanomaterial-based biosensors for envi- ronmental and biological monitoring of OP pesticides and nerve agents. We provide background informa- tion and a general overview of electrochemical and immunoassay detection techniques. Nanomaterials function as signal transducers to mediate current flow or as recognition agents. We present electroactive tags to indicate the detection of analytes. In addition, we discuss future considerations and opportunities for advancing the use of biosensors for environmental and health studies. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 2. Nanomaterial-based biosensors for environmental monitoring of organophosphorus pesticides and nerve agents ......................... 3 2.1. Detection of pesticides in the environment using enzymatic methods ....................................................... 3 2.1.1. AChE biosensors ........................................................................................... 3 2.1.2. OPH biosensors ............................................................................................ 4 2.2. Enzyme-free biosensors ............................................................................................ 4 3. Nanomaterial-based biosensors for biological monitoring of exposure to organophosphorus pesticides and nerve agents ................... 5 3.1. Measurement of organophosphorus metabolites ........................................................................ 6 3.2. Assay of cholinesterase activity ...................................................................................... 6 3.3. Detection of OP-AChE/OP-BChE adducts ............................................................................... 7 4. Discussion and conclusion ................................................................................................ 8 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... 8 References ............................................................................................................ 8 1. Introduction Organophosphorus (OP) compounds are primarily used as insecticides (e.g., paraoxon, parathion and coumaphos) [1,2] and developed as chemical-weapon nerve agents (e.g., sarin and so- man) [3,4] worldwide. The large amounts of residues of OP pesti- cides in the environment, such as air, soil, water and food, and terrorist attacks with nerve-agent gas are major public health and national security concerns. Due to the toxicity of OP pesticides and nerve agents, and the danger presented by their accidental or intentional release in populated areas, the development of rapid, sensitive, inexpensive diagnosis tools for environmental and bio- logical monitoring is currently a research area of great interest. 0165-9936/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2013.10.007 ⇑ Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, PR China. Tel.: +1 509 335 3224. E-mail address: dan.du@mail.ccnu.edu.cn (D. Du). Trends in Analytical Chemistry 54 (2014) 1–10 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Trends in Analytical Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/trac