DEVELOPMENT OF MXENE/CHITOSAN ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSOR FOR EFFECTIVE DETECTION OF DEOXYNIVALENOL AND ZEARALENONE MYCOTOXINS

Deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) are mycotoxins contaminating crops globally, produced by Fusarium gramine arum and have detrimental effects on human and animal health, environment, and economy. Thus, this study aims to develop a highly sensitive and selective MXene/Chitosan biosensor for the detection of these mycotoxins because it is cheaper, and easier to prepare compared to the available
conventional methods and biosensors. The novelty of this research is the use of MXene/Chitosan for this application which improves the sensitivity of the biosensor tremendously for the detection of the minute mycotoxins. This research managed to solve the fabrication of MXene on screen-printed electrode (SPE) by incorporating the biodegradable polymer, chitosan which acts as a binder. Both MXene and MXene/Chitosan were characterized for their surface morphology, crystallinity, chemical compositions, and functional groups.