Effect of lead accumulation in maize leaves on their chemical images created by a flow-through electronic tongue

A flow-through electronic tongue based on miniaturized ion-selective electrode array was used for the classification of the maize leaf samples (Zea mays) exposed to media containing Pb(II) ions. The system provided a good recognition of the extracts from the plant leaves treated with solutions of varying concentrations of Pb(NO3)2. Additionally, samples derived from specific segments of the maize leaf, representing different developmental stages of cells, were also discriminated. The presented results showed that the developed sensor array combined with Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) technique allowed to recognize the plant samples on the basis of the changes in the ionic composition of the leaf homogenates.