Laser-Printed Electrochemical Microfluidic Aptasensing Chip for Simultaneous Detection of Multiple Pesticides

Laser scribing-based nanotechnology shows superior performance in the precise and scalable construction of customized sensors. In light of the significant threats posed by pesticide residues to food safety and ecological sustainability, progressive sensing devices are highly desirable for the simultaneous, sensitive, and selective detection of multiple pesticides. Herein, an electrochemical microfluidic aptasensing chip (EMAC), consisting of a self-supported gold nanoparticle-decorated laser-induced graphene (LIG/Au) electrode array and a laser-patterned microfluidic channel, was developed for the simultaneous detection of multiple pesticide residues by combining aptamer-based target recognition and rolling circle amplification (RCA). Specifically, both the LIG/Au electrode array and the microfluidic channel were created in a scalable fashion through a direct, simple, mask-free, and controllable laser scribing process, which facilitates the creation of several LIG/Au electrode-based parallel sensing elements within a single microfluidic chip, thereby enabling the simultaneous detection of multiple pesticides with high sensitivity and selectivity. Furthermore, the proposed EMAC revealed excellent reproducibility, high stability, and satisfactory analytical performance for assessing pesticide residues in pakchoi leaves, roots, and soils. Therefore, this work offers new insights into the creation of next-generation electrochemical microfluidic chips for simultaneously monitoring multiple targets.