A biomimetic sensor based on a carbon paste electrode modified with hemin complex and graphene
oxide was developed as an alternative technique for the sensitive and selective analysis of carbofuran
pesticide. The electrochemical analysis of carbofuran was initially carried out with the biomimetic sensor
using cyclic voltammetry within the potential range of -0.2 to 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl (KClsat). The sensor
showed in square wave voltammetry (SWV) a linear response between 5.0
106 and 9.5
105 mol L1,
a sensitivity of 1.1
105 (1.4
103) mA L mol1 and detection limit of 9.0
109 mol L1. The sensitive
and selective detection of carbofuran was confirmed through the analysis of other pesticides using SWV.
When the proposed sensor was applied in food samples, the results obtained in the recovery studies were
found to be close to 100%. These results obtained were similar to those of the high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) method. Furthermore, an electrochemical study was conducted aiming at
verifying the importance of the use of hemin complex and graphene oxide in the construction of the
sensor. The results obtained showed a clear improvement in selectivity, reproducibility and sensitivity of
the proposed sensor.