A new data analysis method to determine pesticide concentrations by cyclic voltammetry

Determining pesticide concentration is very important for safe agricultural products. In this study, a new data analysis method was developed to determine the concentration of Carbofuran pesticides by cyclic voltammetry. The peak current and two specific area indexes calculated from the cyclic voltammetry curves served as the dependent variables. The concentrations of Carbofuran pesticides were used as the independent variables. The inverse calibration equation was used to evaluate the predictive performance. The results indicated that the numeric values of the cyclic voltammogram area ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 V were the best index value of pesticide concentration. The precision of this index was better than that of others two indexes. The accuracy of the determination technique with the calibration equation was within 5 ppm by the adequate calibration equation.

► A cyclic voltammetry method to analyze the carbofuran pesticides concentration was developed.
► The peak current and two areas of the cyclic voltammograms were served as the dependent variables.
► The area ranged from 0.5 to 0.9 V of the cyclic voltammograms was the best index value.
► The accuracy of the calibration equation was within 4.4 ppm by the adequate calibration equation.
► A novel technique was proposed to detect concentrations of carburant pesticides.