Point-of-use electroanalytical platform based on homemade potentiostat and smartphone for multivariate data processing

Abstract We herein report a potential point-of-use platform for multivariate analyses by presenting homemade potentiostat and smartphone. This system combined high-performance detection (linear sweep, cyclic, and square wave voltammetry) with great simplicity, low-cost, portability, autonomy (6 h), and cable-free (wireless communication) device. In addition, the smartphone showed ability for processing complex and multivariate data. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first reporting about the development of a totally integrated point-of-use system with chemometric data processing on smartphone. This feature is essential for in-situ assays by allowing the real-time accomplishment of the entire analytical measurement at remote places. Such ability further reduces the occurrence of model overfitting by non-expert users. As proof-of-concept, our system was successfully applied to fingerprint Brazilian honey samples according to their botanical and geographic origins. The method relied on the unsupervised technique of principal component analysis (PCA) and the assays were performed by cyclic voltammetry using a single and non-modified working electrode of gold.