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As a dihydrochalcone natural sweetener extracted from Lithocarpus litseifolius , trilobatin is an emerging functional sweetener in the international arena in recent years and is gaining attention in the food industry. The detection of trilobatin has also gradually received the attention of researchers, however, the detection means for trilobatin still remain in the traditional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and other traditional methods, which are costly and have a large detection range. In this work, a method based on the principle of surface-enhanced Raman (SERS) using a composite substrate of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) materials is proposed for the detection of trilobatin in tea beverages. After Gaussian simulation and a series of spectral analysis methods for validation, the functionalized SERS substrates contain abundant hydroxyl groups on the surface, which can be combined with trilobatin through hydrogen bonding and greatly enhance the Raman signal of trilobatin. The specific detection of trilobatin in tea beverages has been realized and the problem of weak SERS signal of trilobatin in liquid environment has been solved. The limit of detection (LOD) of trilobatin in tea beverage was 2.8 nM, and the correlation coefficient (R2) was 0.995. The recoveries were in the range of 100.6∼106.0% with the RSD of 1.756∼4.921%. In conclusion, the experimental method is highly sensitive and specific, and can realize the nondestructive detection of trilobatin in samples with high practical value. [Display omitted] • First SERS-based method for the detection of trilobatin in beverages using Ag@COF substrates. • This method can be applied in the detection of real drink samples without pretreatment procedures. • The detection time of the substrate to the sample is short and the recovery rate is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amaranth red is usually used as a food colorant in carbonated drinks, but long-term excess consumption of amaranth red in carbonated drinks may lead to the loss of zinc in the human body, thus causing kidney dysfunction. In this study, we developed a simple method to combine cysteamine (Cys) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), the surface of AgNPs was modified with Cys at room temperature, and then the amino-functionalized SERS substrate was obtained, which was applied to the determination of amaranth red in carbonated drinks. The characteristic peak in Raman spectra of amaranth red showed obvious SERS enhancement at 1570 cm−1, whose intensity had a good linear relationship with the concentration of amaranth red in carbonated drinks. The limits of detection (LOD) in water and carbonated drinks were calculated to be 1.49 μg/L and 4.13 μg/L, and the adjusted correlation coefficients (R2) were 0.992 and 0.990, respectively. In addition, the average recovery rate of amaranth red in carbonated drinks was 95.11–105.48%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.37–8.09%. This work provides a simple and fast method for detecting amaranth red in carbonated drinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The AgNPs-4MPBA composite structure was first designed as SERS substrate for detection of fructose in urine. • This method achieve the LOD of fructose to be 0.535 µmol/L in urine. • This method realizes rapid fructose detection in less than 10 min. The accurate detection of fructose in human urine can help prevent and screen for diseases such as fructokinase deficiency and hereditary fructose intolerance. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique with selectivity and high sensitivity, which has been widely applied to the detection of targets with complex backgrounds. In this work, 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA) was modified on the surface of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) under mild conditions to obtain a boronic acid-functionalized SERS substrate for the detection of fructose in artificial urine. The detection mechanism was based on the deboronization reaction of 4-MPBA on the surface of AgNPs, which was induced by fructose, and the Raman signal of the generated thiophenol (TP) molecules was significantly enhanced by the silver nanoparticles, with a linear increase in SERS peak intensity at 1570 cm−1. We achieved the detection limits of 0.084 µmol/L in water and 0.535 µmol/L in urine by this method. The relative standard deviation (RSD) in the recovery experiments of urine ranged from 1.01 % to 2.22 %, and the whole detection time was less than 10 min, which indicated that this method is highly reliable for fructose detection and has a good prospect in bioassay and clinical medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The β-CD-AgNPs substrate can selectively combine with NFX. And the proposed method can be applied in the detection of real milk samples. • The "host–guest" interaction of NFX and β-CD-AgNPs was verified by the UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Zeta potential and DLS. • This developed SERS method is simple and sensitive, the LOD of NFX was 3.214 pmol/L in standard solution and 5.327 nmol/L in milk. The norfloxacin (NFX) residue in milk will increase human resistance to drugs and pose a threat to public health. In this work, a highly sensitive method for detection of NFX was developed based on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) using β-cyclodextrin functionalized silver nanoparticles (β-CD-AgNPs) as substrate. The unique spatial size and hydrophilicity of β-CD on the surface of AgNPs could selectively capture the target molecule (NFX) through some weak interactions, including hydrogen-bond interaction, electrostatic interaction, etc. The interactions were characterized by the UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Zeta potential and DLS. The Raman signal of NFX is largely enhanced when anchored by β-CD on the surface of AgNPs due to SERS effect. Through a series of experiments and analysis, the limit of detection (LOD) in standard solution and spiked milk were calculated to be 3.214 pmol/L and 5.327 nmol/L. The correlation coefficients (R2) were 0.986 and 0.984, respectively. For milk sample determination of NFX, the recovery was 101.29% to 104.00% with the relative standard deviation (RSD) from 2.986% to 9.136%. To sum up, this developed SERS strategy is sensitive and specific to detect NFX in milk, it has practical application value and prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]