An efficient and simple method using a graphite oxide electrochemical sensor for the determination of glyphosate in environmental samples

Excessive and indiscriminate use of the herbicide glyphosate (GLY) leaves the environment susceptible to its contamination. This work describes the development of a simple, inexpensive, and efficient electroanalytical method using graphite oxide paste electrode (GrO-PE) for the direct determination of GLY traces in groundwater samples, soybean extracts, and lettuce extracts. Under optimal experimental conditions, the developed sensor exhibited a linear response of the peak current intensity vs. the concentration, in the range of 1.8 × 10−5 to 1.2 × 10−3 mol L−1 for GLY. The limits of detection and quantification are 1.7 × 10−8 mol L−1 and 5.6 × 10−8 mol L−1, respectively. The methodology developed here demonstrated a strong analytical performance, with high reproducibility, repeatability, and precision. Moreover, it successfully avoided interference from other substances, showing high selectivity. The GrO-PE sensor was effectively applied to determine GLY traces in real samples with recovery rates ranging from 98% to 102%. Results showed that the GrO-PE is effective and useful for GLY detection, with the advantage of not involving laborious modifications and complicated handling, making it a promising tool for environmental analysis.