Bridging Fe3O4@Au nanoflowers and Au@Ag nanospheres with aptamer for ultrasensitive SERS detection of aflatoxin B1.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) as the most toxic mycotoxin in contaminated food can greatly threaten human health, and sensitive and selective detection of AFB1 is thus highly desired. An ultrasensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) aptasensor was developed for AFB1 detection in peanut oil samples. SH-cDNA modified Fe3O4@Au nanoflowers acted as capture probes, SH-Apt modified Au@Ag nanospheres and commercial Cy3-Apt were used as reporter probes. Strong SERS signals of reporter probes were produced due to the recognition of AFB1 aptamer and its complementary strand (SH-cDNA). With the preferred binding of AFB1 aptamer to AFB1, reporter probes were released from capture probes, causing a linear decrease in SERS intensity. Therefore an ultralow detection limit of 0.40 pg·mL-1 in a wide linear range of 0.0001-100 ng·mL-1 was obtained and the sensibility of this SERS aptasensor was higher than that of the Cy3-Apt based SERS aptasensor. In addition, an excellent selectivity in interfering toxins and satisfactory recoveries of 96.6-115% in peanut oil samples were obtained, proving this aptasensor is a promising analytical tool in AFB1 detection.

Applications of Raman spectroscopic techniques for quality and safety evaluation of milk: A review of recent developments.

Milk is a complete nutrient source for humans. The quality and safety of milk are critical for both producers and consumers, thereby the dairy industry requires rapid and nondestructive methods to ensure milk quality and safety. However, conventional methods are time-consuming and laborious, and require complicated preparation procedures. Therefore, the exploration of new milk analytical methods is essential. This current review introduces the principles of Raman spectroscopy and presents recent advances since 2012 of Raman spectroscopic techniques mainly involving surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), fourier-transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy, near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy for milk analysis including milk compositions, microorganisms and antibiotic residues in milk, as well as milk adulterants. Additionally, some challenges and future outlooks are proposed. The current review shows that Raman spectroscopic techniques have the promising potential for providing rapid and nondestructive detection of milk parameters. However, the application of Raman spectroscopy on milk analysis is not common yet since some limitations of Raman spectroscopy need to be overcome before making it a routine tool for the dairy industry.