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Engineering an Ag/Au bimetallic nanoparticle-based acetylcholinesterase SERS biosensor for in situ sensitive detection of organophosphorus pesticide residues in food

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Abstract

Developing simple, efficient, and inexpensive method for trace amount organophosphorus pesticides’ (OPs) detection with high sensitivity and specificity is of significant importance for guaranteeing food safety. Herein, an Ag/Au bimetallic nanoparticle-based acetylcholinesterase (AChE) surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) biosensor was constructed for in situ simple and sensitive detection of pesticide residues in food. The principle of this biosensor exploited 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA)-modified Ag/Au bimetallic nanoprobes as SERS signal probe to improve sensitivity and stability. The combination of AChE and choline oxidase (CHO) can hydrolyze acetylcholine (ATCh) to generate H2O2. The product of H2O2 selectively oxidizes the boronate ester of 4-MPBA, decreasing the Raman intensity of the B-O symmetric stretching. In the presence of OPs, it could inhibit the production of H2O2 by destroying the AChE activity, so the reduction of the SERS signal was also alleviated. Based on the principle, an Ag/Au bimetallic nanoparticle-based AChE SERS sensor was established without any complicated pretreatments. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of Ag/Au bimetallic hybrids, a linear detection range from 5×10−9 to 5×10−4 M was achieved with a limit of detection down to 1.7×10−9 M using parathion-methyl (PM) as the representative model of OPs. Moreover, the SERS biosensor uses readily available reagents and is simple to implement. Importantly, the proposed SERS biosensor was used to quantitatively analyze OP residues in apple peels. The levels of OPs detected in real samples by this method were consistent with those obtained using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), suggesting the proposed assay has great potential applications for OPs in situ detection in food safety fields.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Natural Science Foundation of China (21675072), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2019MB068, ZR2022MB012), the Project of Shandong Province Higher Educational Science and Technology Program (KJ2018BZC043), and the Young Innovative Talents Introduction and Cultivation Program for Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province: Innovative Research Team on biomedical sensing and food safety Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252059, Shandong, China

    Shuling Xu, Min Li, Xia Li & Qingwang Xue

  2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Liaocheng, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

    Yanhui Jiang, Linlin Yu & Yue Zhao

  3. Earthquake Monitoring Center Station of Liaocheng, Earthquake Administration of Shandong Province, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

    Liyuan Wen

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  1. Shuling Xu
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Xu, S., Li, M., Li, X. et al. Engineering an Ag/Au bimetallic nanoparticle-based acetylcholinesterase SERS biosensor for in situ sensitive detection of organophosphorus pesticide residues in food. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 203–210 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04400-0

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