Silver Nanoparticles Modified Screen-Printed Electrochemical Sensor: Tool for Control of Pollutants of Emerging Concern in Bee Pollen

Bee pollen is used for nutritional purposes, therefore it is necessary to evaluate the presence of emerging contaminants. This study provides a novel sensing device based on a screen-printed electrode modified with silver nanoparticles for the determination of cadmium and lead. The honey-mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles allows to obtain monodisperse and spherical shape nanoparticles. The characterization of the modified screen-printed electrode was performed by a scanning electron microscope analysis, and its electrochemical behavior was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry was used to quantify the metals, and the obtained detection limits were 0.26 and 0.27 µg/L for cadmium and lead, respectively. Bee pollen samples were analyzed and the method was validated using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The obtained results have showed that the electrochemical sensor has a high potential to be used in the determination of cadmium and lead in bee pollen samples due to its applicability, simplicity and reproducibility.