Huazhong Nongda: The “artifact” for agricultural residue inspection can detect one-billionth of a kilogram of pesticide residues

【China Instrument Network Instrument Development】 Through learning from the gecko, it has created a kind of imitation Gecko foot nano material that can effectively detect pesticide residues. Recently, the research results of Prof. Han Heyou's group of researchers at Hubei Huazhong Agricultural University were published in the Analytical Chemistry, an authoritative journal in the field of analytical chemistry.

The gecko is a "nano master" in nature. Earlier, scientists discovered that the secret of the gecko's ability to fly and walk is that millions of nano-scale bristles are hidden on the soles of the feet, and that each bristly end has hundreds of finer branches. These flexible nanostructures can fully contact the wall with any angle of adjustment, greatly increasing the contact area between the sole of the foot and the wall, resulting in great adhesion.

Inspired by this phenomenon, the research group under the leadership of Prof. Han Heyou of the Huazhong Agricultural University created a kind of imitation gecko foot nanomaterial. Compared to conventional substrates, the surface of an adult fingernail-sized Gecko's foot base possesses hundreds of millions of soft nano-"tents" similar to Gecko's bristle structures. These "antennas" are used when detecting multi-component pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables. It can greatly increase the contact area between the substrate and the sample, generate a strong molecular attraction force, and achieve intimate contact between the substrate and the actual sample surface, so that no damage, direct and rapid detection.

In the experiment, the magical material created by Han Heyou's research group successfully achieved high-efficiency detection of pesticide residues such as methyl parathion, thiram, and malachite green on apples, grapes, and cucumbers, with a detection limit of 1.6 ng/cm2. A fruit-vegetable surface with a fingernail size can be rapidly detected as long as there are 1 billionth of a gram of pesticide residue.

(Original Title: Prof. Huazhong Nong University's Professor Goes to Gecko to Create an "Artifact" that Efficiently Detects Pesticide Residues)