Scientists from the Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin (Ural Federal University) together with
Nitrobenzene is widely used in variousproduction processes. Because of the pleasant almond odor of this chemical and the slow action of its vapors, its toxic properties were not generally recognized. But the compound was found to have carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.
Today, most search methodstesting for nitrobenzene in products requires a large amount of equipment, so it is not possible to quickly find out the results on site. The authors of the work decided to create a portable express analogue that would be mobile and convenient.
The sensitivity and accuracy of such analyzersdetermined by the structure of the recognizer—the so-called receptor layer. As a rule, it consists of enzymes, universal biological catalysts, which, along with some advantages, have high cost and low chemical stability.
Alisa Kozitsina, Director of the Innovation Center for Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technologies of UrFU
Scientists have created a synthetic receptor asreplacement systems based on enzymes and based on it made a prototype of a portable analyzer. It works on the principle of using organic compounds of the diazine class - these are substances that can selectively interact with nitrobenzene: they pull it out of the analyzed sample onto the electrode of the electrochemical sensor.
The result, according to the authors, is a sensitive method for the determination of nitrobenzene, which does not require spending a lot of resources on sample preparation.
Unlike optical spectralof analyzers currently used to search for nitrobenzene, electrochemical sensors are miniature, easy to manufacture and require an ultra-small amount of the analyzed product. Our recognition system and the prototype of an electrochemical sensor have no direct analogues in the world.
Tatyana Svalova, Associate Professor, UrFU
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