Partner CSEM Promotes Breakthrough in Selective Glyphosate Detection, Advancing Water Quality Monitoring

CSEM, a key partner in the EU-funded UNIVERSWATER project, announced a significant advancement in environmental sensing technology. During a keynote presentation at the International Mass Spectrometry Conference (IMSC) 2025 in Freiburg, researchers detailed a novel method for the selective detection of glyphosate, one of the world’s most widely used herbicides.

The keynote, delivered by lead researcher Alexandra Beard, addressed a central challenge in environmental analysis: reliably distinguishing glyphosate from AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), its primary degradation product. The presence of AMPA can interfere with measurements, making accurate contamination assessments difficult.

The CSEM team developed a new electrochemical oxidation strategy using gold electrodes. By precisely studying the sensor’s response at different electrical potentials, they successfully created a method to isolate the glyphosate signal from that of AMPA. This breakthrough represents a critical step toward developing more selective, reliable, and cost-effective sensors for real-time water quality monitoring.

The research reflects a strong, multidisciplinary effort at CSEM and directly supports UNIVERSWATER’s objective to deliver next-generation monitoring technologies to protect public health and the environment. The success of this research is credited to a dedicated team at CSEM, including Saleem Khan, Xavier Lefevre, Alba Finelli, Erika Györvary, Alexandra Beard, and Raphaël Pugin. The UNIVERSWATER project will continue to build on these findings, with further results and publications expected to be released soon.