Impedimetric, PEDOT:PSS-Based Organic Electrochemical Sensor for Detection of Histamine for Precision Animal Agriculture

Our research on mixed ion-electron conductivity involved us into a collaboration to develop a histamine biosensor. High concentrations of histamine are associated with subacute ruminal acidosis, a common disease in high-producing lactating dairy cows. Therefore, the accurate detection of low histamine levels is a strategy to monitor and diagnose ruminal acidosis in early stages. For that purpose we have developed an impedimetric histamine biosensor based on an organic semiconductor: poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). The sensor can be utilized to detect low concentrations of histamine in a phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) buffer and McDougall’s buffer solution (MDBS) with an impedimetric readout technique. With PEDOT:PSS film as the sensing medium, the device displayed a limit of detection of 0.1 μM and an impedance of ∼82 􏰓 at low frequencies in MDBS. More details are available in IEEE Sensors Letters.