Abu Bakar Norhayati, Fronzi Marco, Shapter Joseph George
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Jan 8;24(2):373. doi: 10.3390/s24020373.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been introduced to detect pesticides at low concentrations and in complex matrices to help developing countries monitor pesticides to keep their concentrations at safe levels in food and the environment. SERS is a surface-sensitive technique that enhances the Raman signal of molecules absorbed on metal nanostructure surfaces and provides vibrational information for sample identification and quantitation. In this work, we report the use of silver nanostars (AgNs) as SERS-active elements to detect four neonicotinoid pesticides (thiacloprid, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and nitenpyram). The SERS substrates were prepared with multiple depositions of the nanostars using a self-assembly approach to give a dense coverage of the AgNs on a glass surface, which ultimately increased the availability of the spikes needed for SERS activity. The SERS substrates developed in this work show very high sensitivity and excellent reproducibility. Our research opens an avenue for the development of portable, field-based pesticide sensors, which will be critical for the effective monitoring of these important but potentially dangerous chemicals.
表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）已被用于检测低浓度和复杂基质中的农药，以帮助发展中国家监测农药，使其在食品和环境中的浓度保持在安全水平。SERS是一种表面敏感技术，可增强吸附在金属纳米结构表面的分子的拉曼信号，并为样品鉴定和定量提供振动信息。在这项工作中，我们报告了使用银纳米星（AgNs）作为SERS活性元素来检测四种新烟碱类农药（噻虫啉、吡虫啉、噻虫嗪和烯啶虫胺）。通过自组装方法多次沉积纳米星制备SERS基底，使AgNs在玻璃表面形成密集覆盖，最终增加了SERS活性所需尖峰的可用性。这项工作中开发的SERS基底显示出非常高的灵敏度和出色的重现性。我们的研究为便携式、基于现场的农药传感器的开发开辟了一条途径，这对于有效监测这些重要但潜在危险的化学品至关重要。
