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Colorimetric determination of the pesticide chlorothalonil based on the aggregation of gold nanoparticles

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Abstract

A method is described for the determination of the pesticide chlorothalonil (CLT). It is based on the finding that citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) undergo aggregation on exposure to chlorothalonil. This is accompanied by a visually detectable color change from wine red to blue. The effect is due to the interaction of the cyano group of chlorothalonil with gold nanoparticles. The assay may also be performed by using a spectrometer. The ratio of absorbances at 700 nm and 520 nm (A700/A520) linearly drops in the 5 to 100 ng·mL−1 CLT concentration range, with a 3.6 ng·mL−1 detection limit. This is below the Chinese guideline value for cucumber. The method is rather simple and does not require any modification of the AuNPs or the utilization of antibody. It was successfully applied to the determination of CLT in (spiked) cucumber samples. Recoveries ranged from 80.4 to 97.4%, and the analytical results compared well with those obtained by HPLC.

Schematic of the assay. The strong interaction of the cyano group of acetamiprid with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via Au-N bond induces the aggregation of gold nanoparticles, and this is accompanied by a color change from red to purple.

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Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0400902) and the Construction of Science and Technology Innovation Team of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (JNKST201620).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Research Center for Agriculture Standards and Testing, Beijing, 100097, China

    Qingju Liu, Ping Han, Wenwen Gong, Hui Wang & Xiaoyuan Feng

  2. Risk Assessment Lab for Agro-products (Beijing), Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100097, China

    Qingju Liu, Ping Han, Wenwen Gong, Hui Wang & Xiaoyuan Feng

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  1. Qingju Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaoyuan Feng.

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Liu, Q., Han, P., Gong, W. et al. Colorimetric determination of the pesticide chlorothalonil based on the aggregation of gold nanoparticles. Microchim Acta 185, 354 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-2890-7

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