Spectroscopic Methods for the Detection of Organophosphate Pesticides – A Preview

Organophosphate pesticides are the ester forms of phosphoric acid usually considered as secure for agriculture uses due to their relatively fast degradation rates. Organophosphorus pesticides have been extensively used in the area of agriculture to manage insect or pests of a number of economically important crops. Organophosphate pesticides are well-known as the inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase activity, not in insects only, but can also affect the nervous system of other organisms as well as humans. Organophosphorus pesticides are not restricted to anticholinesterase action, but comprise genotoxicity and teratogenicity including other environmental and ecological adverse impact. Such severe health and ecological consequences signify a requirement for a better understanding of the fate of organophosphates in the environment. By kept all these things in mind we have written a review on organophosphorus pesticides. In this review we have previewed the different methods of spectroscopic methods of detection including UV-visible, X-ray, Mass analysis, NMR, electrochemical analysis (sensor based) and FTIR. Among all these mass and electrochemical studies were flourished till date and considered as advanced techniques for the analysis of other pesticides also.