A method for routine detection of organophosphates and carbamates in sea water

Abstract

A method is described for the routine determination of pesticides in sea water using a microplate reader and the inhibition of acetyl cholinesterase. The use of the plate reader permits the determination of a number of measurements, and also permits the use of small amounts of enzyme, since loss of activity can be compensated for by the long term simultaneous determination of enzymatic activity. The sensitivity of inhibitor detection can also be enhanced in comparison with classical methods‐ Using acetyl cholinesterase as the enzyme, detection levels of 0.1 μgl^‐1 and 0.01 μgl^‐1 were obtained respectively for carbaryl and diethyl p‐nitrophenyl phosphate. This approach should be generally applicable to the detection of many routine enzyme inhibitors.