Recent Developments in Green Electrochemical Sensors: Design, Performance, and Applications

Disposable sensors are becoming increasingly used in the healthcare industry for quick and affordable biomarker screening and monitoring. The electrochemical detection technique makes it simple to scale up and miniaturize inexpensive disposable sensors, can be employed for accurate biomarker measurement at or close to the patient site. The paper-based analytic tools make it easier to sample in situ, search for biomarkers, and detect them multiplexedly. This chapter describes the high-throughput fabrication methods used to create disposable electrodes, such as paper based electrodes, screen-printing, ink jet printing, and laser induced printing, and goes into detail on how they can be utilized for various enzymatic, nonenzymatic, and aptamer-based sensing. The effectiveness of nanostructured materials in enhancing electrochemical sensor performance is outlined. Additionally, current innovations in hybrid wearable devices capable of sensing various analytes.

Electrochemical sensors are now the focus of significant study, due to their tiny size, exhibit surprising optical characteristics, and are capable of causing quantum phenomena. This led to the creation of several chemical, physical, and biological processes for creating metallic nanomaterials. However, challenges including the use of hazardous chemicals and the high energy needs for manufacturing make it difficult for them to be widely used in physical and chemical synthesis of nanomaterials. Green synthesis is an alternate method for creating metallic nanomaterials. This “green” strategy to making biological nanoparticles is promising since it enables synthesis under aqueous settings with little energy usage and inexpensive. An overview of some of these environmentally acceptable techniques for creating biological metallic nanomaterials, and their applications as electrochemical sensors, design, performance

Disposable sensors are the excellent sensing devices which allow the complex measurements to be carried out rapidly and at very low cost with greater efficiency. Demand for disposable biosensors is increasing rapidly because of the need for fast, reliable as well as accessible information in this wider world. Devices like disposable biosensors are being used in a wider range of areas such as clinical diagnosis, pharmaceutical industry, environmental sensing, agriculture, food, and forensic sciences. Disposable biosensors, capable of measuring the physical quantities like pressure and temperature, provide information about the biological as well as chemical molecules which can be digitized and stored. This chapter discusses the disposable biosensors and their potential industrial applications.

With the advancement of cutting-edge detection strategies, nanomaterials are a definite frontrunner in sensor-based research concerns. In fact, the present global scenario regarding environmental, biomedical, and food safety monitoring, demands the fruitful utilization of nanomaterials in different spheres of our daily life settings. Due to the abundance and tempting properties of carbon-based nanomaterials, these materials are ruling the sensing platforms for various applications. This chapter aims at covering the newly developed sensor supports with the utilization of carbon-based nanomaterials, particularly graphene, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The use of these nanomaterials demonstrated the robustness and exquisite improvements in response time, selectivity, sensitivity, and detection limits that essentially nominate them as the most promising electrode materials in diverse sensing platforms. In this chapter, several latest detection techniques are discussed extensively, concerning electrochemical, gas, and biosensing platforms using different functionalized CNT and graphene-based electrodes. In fine, the underlying challenges encountered during the dynamic progress of those nanomaterials are highlighted, followed by a brief remark on indomitable future prospects in sensor science.

Environmental pollution is a major concern for mankind as today’s uncontrolled pollution destroys the standard of living of future generations. Though environmental monitoring systems are available, the time taken for analysis becomes a hurdle for technicians to react quickly. The recent development in sensors focuses on point-of-care testing which leads to the development of disposable sensors. Disposable electrochemical sensors are a new class of sensors that offers high sensitivity and selectivity in the real-time working environment. This chapter focuses on the recent developments in disposable electrochemical sensors for environmental monitoring.

Global agricultural demand is increasing rapidly. To maintain economical food safety and security, soil monitoring techniques are the key factors for best farming practices. Several soil monitoring techniques geophysical, chemical, and biological techniques exist; however, electrochemical sensing methods are a simple, cost-effective and useful tool. The advent of electrochemistry has significantly revolutionized analytical chemistry research due to its high sensitivity and simpler sophistication. The electrochemical sensors have been recognized as a better alternative compared to their counterparts. This chapter attempts to give an overview of the usage of electroanalytical techniques in soil analysis. Herein, various materials used for electrochemical sensing of soils with particular attention to sensing pesticides and toxic metal ions in a soil sample are described. In addition, the future scope is also included.

The facile green-assisted (Aloe-vera) synthesis of Bi doped MgZrO₄ nanoparticle by solution combustion method. The synthesized nanoparticle was well characterized by Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectral studies. P-XRD analysis reveals the phase formation and crystallite size of synthesized materials was found to be 28 nm using Scherrer’s formula. Energy band gap of synthesized nanomaterial was recorded to be 3.45 eV. The heavy metal ions are severely cause human health, it is vital to develop a simple, sensitive and specific route for their detection in environment and food. The electrochemical sensor detection analysis of prepared NPs was carried out for Mercury heavy metal and Glucose biomolecule in the scan rate of 10 mV/s. The Bi doped MgZrO₄ nanoparticle (5 mol) photocatalyst was synthesized based on the MgZrO₄ nanoparticles by the incorporation of Bi dopant, which showed excellent photocatalytic activity for cationic dye such as methylene blue (MB) under UV-light irradiation at 120 min. The reported results are confirmed that Bi doped MgZrO₄ nanoparticle is suitable candidate for mercury heavy metal sensor detection and photocatalytic applications.

Disposable electrodes have been used by a large number of scientists in the development of portable electroanalytical devices in recent years. Their applications in point-of-care diagnostics and on-site analytical monitoring play an important role in fields such as biomedical, pharmaceutical, industrial, cultural heritage food, and environmental safety. The disposable electrodes have important features. They are portable, useful, and can be easily produced. These properties have drastically affected the electrochemical sensors, the materials used, and their manufacturing ways. Today, it has become possible to monitor mustard gas and glucose in the blood with wearable origami sensors, due to single-use electrodes. There are several types of disposable electrodes like carbon paper electrodes, screen printed electrodes, indium-tin-oxide electrodes, pencil graphite electrodes, and other types such as water-based, etc. These electrodes are modified with various nanomaterials or used as bare electrodes for the determination of many analytes. In this chapter, some selected disposable electrode types and their application for the determination of many analytes in the last ten years are given in detail.

Sensors are devices composed of an active sensing material and a signal transducer. Electrochemical sensors produce electrical signals, which can be converted into digital signals for further processing. Electrochemical sensors are more advantageous than other types of sensors because the electrodes can sense the materials within the host without causing any damage. Furthermore, electrochemical devices are unique in their capacity to satisfy the size, cost, and low volume and show great promise for a wide range of biomedical or environmental applications. Many nanomaterials have been fabricated successfully with unique electrochemical behavior in recent years. Nanomaterials possess unique physicochemical and electrical properties; thus, electrochemical biosensors containing nanomaterials can optimize response speed, sensitivity, and selectivity to detect contaminants in complex samples. Nanomaterials have been developed into a significant tool for understanding electrochemical behavior in electroactive systems with the help of modern electroanalytical techniques. Numerous synthetic methods and characterization techniques are available for synthesizing and characterizing these nanomaterials used as electrochemical sensors.

The boron-doped diamond (BDD) film is a very attractive material that shows excellent electroanalytical performance and presents itself as a green electrochemical sensor. In the recent years, its application in determining organic and inorganic compounds in complex matrices, mainly in biological and environmental samples, has been increased, due to its property of inertness, weak molecular adsorption, selectivity, and sensitivity in the measurements, with simplified sample preparation. The process of BDD film synthesis is not so convenient, but once obtained, it is a sensor that can be used in numerous applications, without the need of disposing or cleaning/treating its surface after each measurement, minimizing the production of chemical waste. This brief review presents the design, performance, and applications of the bare BDD and screen-printed diamond electrodes, from the last few years (Jan/2017 to June/2022).

Significant advances in green electrochemical sensors (G-ECS) for biological, ecological, and industrial studies are presented in this chapter. The design methods and electrode processes used are highlighted in detail, and applications are indicated where applicable. Chemicals, reagents, and methods that adhere to the principles of green analytical chemistry are already used in the design and use of G-ECS. With the primary goal of decreasing the environmental impact, harmless electrodes, environmentally friendly solvents and solutions, and techniques that allow for the decrease of sample size and waste product amounts are being used. These elements are briefly covered in this concise overview by addressing the state-of-the-art of G-ECS in relation to green chemistry. These designed and developed instruments are excellent and environmentally friendly chemical process concepts.

In these decade, the nano materials find wide spread applications in the designing and development of the electrochemical sensors. In specific, the nano materials like gold, silver, iron nano particles, magnetic nano materials, carbon based nano materials and quantum dots finds variety of applications. This nano material has become a frontier subject to study, for material scientists. In these days electrochemical sensors finds wide spread applications. The conventional electrochemical sensors require the bulk samples, macro electrodes and sophisticated instruments to fabricate the sensor device. The integration of the electrochemical sensing and microelectrode provide a single platform to fabricate a miniaturized, eco-friendly, reusable, less cost, more sensitive, rapid detection and multiplex sensing device. These type of micro devices uses versatile materials, to draw electrodes using suitable fabrication technique. In this chapter, different trends to fabricate miniaturized electrochemical sensing device has been deliberately discussed. This chapter focus on the miniaturized device fabrication, plenty of applications in real time, interfacing automation, identifying of research gaps and the methods to fulfill them. The present chapter give complete details about the modern approaches of the device fabrication methods of the electrochemical sensors.

In recent years, clean living resources are being depleted due to people’s reckless use of already existing resources as if they will never run out. Our current resources are being rapidly polluted while our living resources are being diminished. Consumption addiction and overuse of resources cause us to encounter irreversible environmental problems. In this regard, the world will inevitably adopt scientific strategies based on fundamental green chemistry principles, such as limiting the use of all harmful chemicals, achieving more efficient chemical reactions by using fewer chemicals and taking into account energy efficiency to address planetary crises like global warming. Therefore, this aspect focused on how to create electrochemical sensors while taking into account green chemistry principles for drug analysis, which are discussed in this chapter. Finally, it is presented to mention green electrochemical applications in drug analysis, the advantages and challenges in electrochemical sensor studies, and possible future green sensor designs.

A sensor is a device that transforms electrochemical data into an analysis-ready signal. Electrochemical sensors have become extensively recognized as a sensitive investigative tool for the diagnosis of diseases and even the detection of a wide variety of medicinal, clinical, industrial, agro-industrial, food, and ecological contaminants. High limits of detection, a large linear area, and exceptional durability and repeatability are all features of electrochemical sensors. Electrochemical sensors have the variety of applications and advantages in all fields. Electrochemical sensors seem to be extremely valuable diagnostic tools that can detect healthcare-related and all.

Electrochemical sensors are able to detect a wide range of analytes of pharmaceutical, clinical, industrial, food, and environmental origins as well as diagnose diseases.Commercial fabrication of the electrochemical sensors involves toxic/hazardous reagents and solvent systems. The development of sensing platforms using biodegradable and sustainable materials is represented by the term "green", aimed at reducing the production of chemical wastes in sensor fabrication.Various fabrication techniques and voltametric analysis of the electrochemical signals of the resulting redox reactions are discussed in the chapter.

Sensors have enhanced people’s daily lives by being used in practically all profession. Sensing and its varied functions are continually improving in response to technological breakthroughs and commercial requirements. Sensors are used in a wide range of fields in lifestyles, medical, sports, production, and everyday lives. In everyday lives, several types of sensors are employed to improve accuracy and speed up assessment. Sensing technology is developing technology and economic prerequisites. It is critical to plan for these developments and consider how sensing technology might be used to generate further inventions. Anyone working in the industrial or technical disciplines has to understand sensing technologies, and sensors are the first and most important components in generating new worth. Smarter Sensing is a method created in the mid-1960s that demonstrated great advancements in combined signal read-out and processing in the nineties. This study describes how sensing technology has a role in everyday life and how much it enhances the quality of life. Sensors for biological, ecological, and industrial investigations have advanced significantly, as described in this chapter.

Nowadays, the development and application of electrochemical sensors for a sustainable future are carried out using techniques and solvents by the principles of green analytical chemistry. The main objective should be to choose methodologies with minimum environmental impact, use non-toxic, environmental-friendly solvents and reagents, and have low sample consumption and waste product amount. Considering these important aspects of green chemistry, current studies with electrochemical sensors for a sustainable future are emphasized. The principles of electrochemical and sustainable electrochemical sensors such as green electrode materials, sustainable material modifications, and green synthesis methods will be discussed in detail. The studies on different substances in the literature are summarized and parameters showing analytical properties such as detection technique, linearity range, and limit of detection are given in the table. Besides, electrochemical performances of such green sensors for measurement of different target analytes, non-toxicity, sustainability, cheap cost, analysis time, surface modification, etc. advantages are reviewed. In conclusion, the challenges and potential solutions for producing green electrochemical sensors are discussed.