Monitoring of diisopropyl fluorophosphate hydrolysis by fluoride-selective polymeric films using absorbance spectroscopy

In this study, a novel system for the detection and quantification of organofluorophosphonates (OFP) has been developed by using an optical sensing polymeric membrane to detect the fluoride ions produced upon OFP hydrolysis. Diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP), a structural analogue of type G chemical warfare agents such as Sarin (GB) and Soman (GD), is used as the surrogate target analyte. An optical sensing fluoride ion selective polymeric film was formulated from plasticized PVC containing aluminum(III) octaethyl porphyrin and ETH 7075 chromoionophore (Al[OEP]-ETH 7075). Selected formulations were used to detect the fluoride ions produced by the catalytic hydrolysis of DFP by the enzyme organophosphate hydrolase (OPH, EC 3.1.8.1). The changes in absorbance that corresponded to the deprotonated state of chromoionophore within the film results from simultaneous coextraction of fluoride and protons as DFP hydrolysis takes place in the solution phase in contact with the film. The developed sensing system demonstrates excellent sensitivity for concentrations as low as 0.1 μM DFP.