Abstract

The analysis of orthophosphate within environmental samples has risen to considerable prominence in recent years as concerns over the eutrophification of rivers and lakes mount. The portability of electrochemical sensing devices is well established but their application to phosphate detection has been less successful. The present review exposes the problems encountered in attempting to apply conventional approaches to the problem and highlights the recent efforts that are being made to extrapolate voltammetric, amperometric and potentiornetric biosensor technologies to the determination of this increasingly important analyte.