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In-field determination of soil ion content using a handheld device and screen-printed solid-state ion-selective electrodes.
PLoS One. 2018; 13(9):e0203862.Plos

Abstract

Small-holding farmers in the developing world suffer from sub-optimal crop yields because they lack a soil diagnostic system that is affordable, usable, and actionable. This paper details the fabrication and characterization of an integrated point-of-use soil-testing system, comprised of disposable ion-selective electrode strips and a handheld electrochemical reader. Together, the strips and reader transduce soil ion concentrations into to an alphanumeric output that can be communicated via text message to a central service provider offering immediate, customized fertilizer advisory. The solid-state ion-selective electrode (SS-ISE) strips employ a two-electrode design with screen-printable carbon nanotube ink serving as the electrical contacts for the working and reference electrodes. The working electrode comprises a plasticizer-free butyl acrylate ion-selective membrane (ISM), doped with an ion-selective ionophore and lipophilic salt. Meanwhile, the reference electrode includes a screen-printed silver-silver chloride ink and a polyvinyl-butyral membrane, which is doped with sodium chloride for stable reference potentials. As a proof of concept, potassium-selective electrodes are studied, given potassium's essential role in plant growth and reproduction. The ISE-based system is reproducibly manufactured to yield a Nernstian response with a sub-micromolar detection limit (pK+ of 5.18 ± 0.08) and near-Nernstian sensitivity (61 mV/decade) in the presence of a 0.02 M strontium chloride extraction solution. Analysis of soil samples using the printed electrodes and reader yielded a correlation coefficient of 𝑅2 = 0.89 with respect to values measured via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The reliable performance of this system is encouraging toward its deployment for soil nutrient management in resource-limited environments.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Rosenberg R
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts of Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Bono MS
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts of Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Braganza S
Technology and Public Policy Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Vaishnav C
Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Karnik R
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts of Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Hart AJ
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts of Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.

MeSH

ElectrodesEquipment and SuppliesIon-Selective ElectrodesLimit of DetectionPotentiometrySoil

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

30252859

Citation

Rosenberg, Ron, et al. "In-field Determination of Soil Ion Content Using a Handheld Device and Screen-printed Solid-state Ion-selective Electrodes." PloS One, vol. 13, no. 9, 2018, pp. e0203862.
Rosenberg R, Bono MS, Braganza S, et al. In-field determination of soil ion content using a handheld device and screen-printed solid-state ion-selective electrodes. PLoS One. 2018;13(9):e0203862.
Rosenberg, R., Bono, M. S., Braganza, S., Vaishnav, C., Karnik, R., & Hart, A. J. (2018). In-field determination of soil ion content using a handheld device and screen-printed solid-state ion-selective electrodes. PloS One, 13(9), e0203862. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203862
Rosenberg R, et al. In-field Determination of Soil Ion Content Using a Handheld Device and Screen-printed Solid-state Ion-selective Electrodes. PLoS One. 2018;13(9):e0203862. PubMed PMID: 30252859.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - In-field determination of soil ion content using a handheld device and screen-printed solid-state ion-selective electrodes. AU - Rosenberg,Ron, AU - Bono,Michael S,Jr AU - Braganza,Soumya, AU - Vaishnav,Chintan, AU - Karnik,Rohit, AU - Hart,A John, Y1 - 2018/09/25/ PY - 2017/09/21/received PY - 2018/08/29/accepted PY - 2018/9/26/entrez PY - 2018/9/27/pubmed PY - 2019/3/23/medline SP - e0203862 EP - e0203862 JF - PloS one JO - PLoS One VL - 13 IS - 9 N2 - Small-holding farmers in the developing world suffer from sub-optimal crop yields because they lack a soil diagnostic system that is affordable, usable, and actionable. This paper details the fabrication and characterization of an integrated point-of-use soil-testing system, comprised of disposable ion-selective electrode strips and a handheld electrochemical reader. Together, the strips and reader transduce soil ion concentrations into to an alphanumeric output that can be communicated via text message to a central service provider offering immediate, customized fertilizer advisory. The solid-state ion-selective electrode (SS-ISE) strips employ a two-electrode design with screen-printable carbon nanotube ink serving as the electrical contacts for the working and reference electrodes. The working electrode comprises a plasticizer-free butyl acrylate ion-selective membrane (ISM), doped with an ion-selective ionophore and lipophilic salt. Meanwhile, the reference electrode includes a screen-printed silver-silver chloride ink and a polyvinyl-butyral membrane, which is doped with sodium chloride for stable reference potentials. As a proof of concept, potassium-selective electrodes are studied, given potassium's essential role in plant growth and reproduction. The ISE-based system is reproducibly manufactured to yield a Nernstian response with a sub-micromolar detection limit (pK+ of 5.18 ± 0.08) and near-Nernstian sensitivity (61 mV/decade) in the presence of a 0.02 M strontium chloride extraction solution. Analysis of soil samples using the printed electrodes and reader yielded a correlation coefficient of 𝑅2 = 0.89 with respect to values measured via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The reliable performance of this system is encouraging toward its deployment for soil nutrient management in resource-limited environments. SN - 1932-6203 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/30252859/In_field_determination_of_soil_ion_content_using_a_handheld_device_and_screen_printed_solid_state_ion_selective_electrodes_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -