Novel reagentless paper-based screen-printed electrochemical sensor to detect phosphate

Herein we describe a novel reagentless paper-based electrochemical phosphate sensor, manufactured with a simple and inexpensive approach. By following three easy steps, consisting of wax patterning, paper chemical modification, and electrode screen-printing, the filter paper provides an effective electroanalytical platform to sense phosphate ions in standard solutions and real samples (river water). The electrochemical properties of the paper-based platform were evaluated, firstly, by using ferricyanide as a redox mediator, proving no analyte-entrapment due to the cellulose lattice. Then, the reference colorimetric method for phosphate ions, which is based on the formation of phosphomolybdic complex, was successfully adapted to a reagentless electrochemically paper-based platform. This novel and highly sustainable configuration readily allows for the determination of phosphate ions with high reproducibility and long storage stability, achieving a detection limit of 4 μM over a wide linear range up to 300 μM. This in-house approach would be able to generically develop an affordable in situ and user-friendly sensing device without the addition of any reagent, to be applied for a broad range of analytes.