The widespread use of toxic pesticides, while essential for agricultural productivity, raises serious concerns for environmental and public health due to chemical residues in water, food, and soil. Timely and accurate in-field detection of these toxic compounds is critical to mitigate their harmful impacts before irreversible damage occurs. However, conventional pesticide detection methods, such as chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, are time-consuming, lab-bound, and require skilled personnel, limiting their real-time applicability. Herein, we explore the development and application of field-deployable electrochemical and optical sensors for the detection of a highly toxic organophosphate pesticide. The electrochemical platform relies on a unique nanocomposite that enables sensitive detection through enhanced electron transfer and analyte interaction, while the optical system leverages portable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for molecular fingerprinting of pesticides with high specificity. Both sensor types were validated using spiked environmental and/or agricultural samples, demonstrating their effectiveness under real-world conditions. These results underscore the potential of electrochemical and optical sensing technologies to deliver rapid, sensitive, and portable solutions for environmental monitoring, food safety, and public health protection.
