Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Lateral Flow Immunoassay for the Detection of Chloramphenicol Antibiotics Using Au@Ag Nanoparticles

Highly sensitive and rapid detection of chloramphenicol antibiotics (CAPs) in aquatic products via lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) strips remains challenging. This study developed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based LFA strip for ultrasensitive analysis of CAPs by using noble metal nanoparticles (NPs). A kind of core-shell Au@Ag NPs were employed to prepare SERS tags considering the stability and repeatability. In order to obtain higher stability and repeatability, we designed antibody-modified gold@silver core-shell nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) as SERS nanotags for quantitative Raman detection of the target in the LFA strip. Results showed that SERS-based LFA strip allowed quantified analysis of chloramphenicol (CAP), thiamphenicol (TAP), and florfenicol (FFC) with the limits of detection of 0.36 ng/mL, 0.20 ng/mL, and 0.78 ng/mL, respectively. Furthermore, SERS-based LFA strip exhibited favorable sensitivity (IC50 values of CAP, TAP, and FFC were 12.94 ng/mL, 8.76 ng/mL, and 12.22 ng/mL, respectively). This SERS-based LFA strip was finally applied in the detection of CAP in chub and the recovery was 91.5 to 106.4%. This SERS-based LFA strip could be used as an effective tool for detecting CAPs in aquatic products.

Automated summary

A SERS-based LFA strip was developed for ultrasensitive detection of chloramphenicol antibiotics in aquatic products, demonstrating favorable sensitivity and stability.