Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ultrasensitive detection of the β-adrenergic agonist brombuterol by a SERS-based lateral flow immunochromatographic assay using flower-like gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Microchimica Acta Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The β-adrenergic agonist brombuterol (BB) is illicitly used as an additive in animal feed to enhance the lean meat-to-fat ratio. The authors describe an ultrasensitive lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) based on the use of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for the determination of brombuterol in swine meat and urine samples. Flower-like gold-silver core-shell bimetallic nanoparticles (referred to as AuNF@Ag) displaying strong SERS enhancement were synthesized, characterized and used as the substrate for the preparation of the LFIA. Polyclonal antibody against brombuterol was immobilized on the surface of the AuNF@Ag particles carrying the Raman reporter 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA). After performing an LFIA, the Raman scattering intensity of MBA on the test line was measured and used for quantitation of brombuterol. Figures of merit of this assay procedure include (a) duration of LFIA process of 15 min; (b) an IC50 value (e.g. the concentration of brombuterol producing 50% of signal inhibition in standard curve) of 380 pg mL-1; and (c) a limit of detection as low as 0.5 pg mL-1. The LFIA is selective over the molecules salbutamol, ractopamine, phenylethanolamine A, isoproterenol and phenylephrine, but shows a 8.5% cross-reactivity to clenbuterol, probably due to the high structural similarity. Swine meat and urine samples spiked with different amounts of brombuterol were analyzed by this method and gave recoveries between 95.8 and 108.0%, and relative standard deviations between 2.0 and 6.3% (for n = 3).

Schematic presentation of the lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) using flower-like gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles. It is capable of detecting brombuterol in swine meat and urine samples with high sensitivity and specificity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Snyder EM, Johnson BD (2014) Importance of the kidney, vessels, and heart with administration of beta(2) adrenergic receptor agonists in patients susceptible to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 189:1445–1447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Mitchell GA, Dunnavan G (1998) Illegal use of beta-adrenergic agonists in the United States. J Anim Sci 76:208–211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Brambilla G, Cenci T, Franconi F, Galarini R, Macri A, Rondoni F, Strozzi M, Loizzo A (2000) Clinical and pharmacological profile in a clenbuterol epidemic poisoning of contaminated beef meat in Italy. Toxicol Lett 114:47–53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Serratosa J, Blass A, Rigau B, Mongrell B, Rigau T, Tortades M, Tolosa E, Aguilar C, Ribo O, Balague J (2006) Residues from veterinary medicinal products, growth promoters and performance enhancers in food-producing animals: a European Union perspective. Rev Sci Tech Off Int Epiz 25:637–653

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bulletin of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China (2010) No. 1519 List of banned animal feed and drinking water substances

  6. Suo DC, Zhao GL, Wang PL, Su XO (2014) Simultaneous determination of beta-agonists and psychiatric drugs in feeds by LC-MS-MS. J Chromatogr Sci 52:604–608

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Wang PL, Liu XM, Su XO, Zhu RH (2015) Sensitive detection of beta-agonists in pork tissue with novel molecularly imprinted polymer extraction followed liquid chromatography coupled tandem mass spectrometry detection. Food Chem 184:72–79

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Gonzalez-Antuna A, Dominguez-Romero JC, Garcia-Reyes JF, Rodriguez-Gonzalez P, Centineo G, Alonso JIG, Molina-Diaz A (2013) Overcoming matrix effects in electrospray: quantitation of beta-agonists in complex matrices by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry using singly C-13-labeled analogues. J Chromatogr A 1288:40–47

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Cheng J, Wang S, Su X (2013) Simultaneous identification and quantification of 20 beta-receptor agonists in feed using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. PLoS One 8:e76400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Zhang ZH, Yan H, Cui FY, Yun H, Chang XH, Li JH, Liu X, Yang LJ, Hu QR (2016) Analysis of multiple beta-agonist and beta-blocker residues in porcine muscle using improved QuEChERS method and UHPLC-LTQ orbitrap mass spectrometry. Food Anal Methods 9:915–924

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Du HY, Chu YX, Yang H, Zhao K, Li JG, She P, Zhang X, Deng AP (2016) Sensitive and specific detection of a new beta-agonist brombuterol in tissue and feed samples by a competitive polyclonal antibody based ELISA. Anal Methods 8:3578–3586

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Zhao YY, Jiang DN, Wu K, Yang H, Du HJ, Zhao K, Li JG, Deng AP (2016) Development of a sensitive monoclonal antibody based ELISA for the determination of a badrenergic agonist brombuterol in swine meat, liver and feed samples. Anal Methods 8:6941–6948

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhu Q, Zhang J, Tang QH, Zhao K, Deng AP, Li JG (2016) Ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescent immunosensor for detecting brombuterol based on quantum dots-graphene@gold nanoparticles as signal enhancer. J Electrochem Soc 163:B352–B357

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Dong TT, Hu LY, Zhao K, Deng AP, Li JG (2016) Multiple signal amplified electrochemiluminescent immunoassay for brombuterol detection using gold nanoparticles and polyamidoamine dendrimers-silver nanoribbon. Analy Chim Acta 945:85–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Zhu Q, Cai FD, Zhang J, Zhao K, Deng AP, Li JG (2016) Highly sensitive electrochemiluminescent immunosensor based on gold nanoparticles-functionalized zinc oxide nanorod and poly (amidoamine)-graphene for detecting brombuterol. Biosens Bioelectron 86:899–906

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Zhang MZ, Wang MZ, Chen ZL, Fang JH, Fang MM, Liu J, Yu XP (2009) Development of a colloidal gold-based lateral-flow immunoassay for the rapid simultaneous detection of clenbuterol and ractopamine in swine urine. Anal Bioanal Chem 395:2591–2599

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Fu QQ, Liang JJ, Lan CF, Zhou KN, Shi CY, Tang Y (2014) Development of a novel dual-functional lateral-flow sensor for on-site detection of small molecule analytes. Sens Actuators B Chem 203:683–689

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Xu H, Chen J, Birrenkott J, Zhao JX, Takalkar S, Baryeh K, Liu GD (2014) Gold-nanoparticle-decorated silica nanorods for sensitive visual detection of proteins. Anal Chem 86:7351–7359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Posthuma-Trumpie GA, Wichers JH, Koets M, Berendsen LBJM, van Amerongen A (2012) Amorphous carbon nanoparticles: a versatile label for rapid diagnostic (immuno)assays. Anal Bioanal Chem 402:593–600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhao P, Wu YY, Zhu YH, Yang XL, Jiang X, Xiao JF, Zhang YX, Li CZ (2014) Upconversion fluorescent strip sensor for rapid determination of vibrio anguillarum. Nano 6:3804–3809

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Kneipp K, Wang Y, Kneipp H, Perelman LT, Itzkan I, Dasari R, Feld MS (1997) Single molecule detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Phys Rev Lett 78:1667–1670

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Nie SM, Emery SR (1997) Probing single molecules and single nanoparticles by surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Science 275:1102–1106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Cialla D, März A, Böhme R, Theil F, Weber K, Schmitt M, Popp J (2012) Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): progress and trends. Anal Bioanal Chem 403:27–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Alvarez-Puebla RA, Liz-Marzan LM (2010) SERS-based diagnosis and biodetection. Small 6:604–610

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Bassi B, Taglietti A, Galinetto P, Marchesi N, Pascale A, Cavrini E, Pallavicini P, Dacarro G (2016) Tunable coating of gold nanostars: tailoring robust SERS labels for cell imaging. Nanotechnolo 27:265302

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhu ZN, Meng HF, Liu WJ, Liu XF, Gong JX, Qiu XH, Jiang L, Wang D, Tang ZY (2011) Superstructures and SERS properties of gold nanocrystals with different shapes. Angew Chem Int Edit 50:1593–1596

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Zhang GN, Li JR, Shen AG, Hu JM (2015) Synthesis of size-tunable chitosan encapsulated gold-silver nanoflowers and their application in SERS imaging of living cells. Phys Chem Chem Phys 17:21261–21267

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Pinkhasova P, Yang L, Zhang Y, Sukhishvili S, Du H (2012) Differential SERS activity of gold and silver nanostructures enabled by adsorbed poly(vinylpyrrolidone). Langmuir 28:2529–2535

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Liu S, Chen GY, Prasad PN, Swihart MT (2011) Synthesis of monodisperse Au, Ag, and Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles with tunable size and surface plasmon resonance frequency. Chem Mater 23:4098–4101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Huang Y, Yang Y, Chen Z, Li X, Nogami M (2008) Fabricating Au−Ag core-shell composite films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering. J Mater Sci 43:5390–5393

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Li J, Wu J, Zhang X, Liu Y, Zhou D, Sun HZ, Zhang H, Yang B (2011) Controllable synthesis of stable urchin-like gold nanoparticles using hydroquinone to tune the reactivity of gold chloride. J Phys Chem C 115:3630–3637

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Perrault SD, Chan WCW (2009) Synthesis and surface modification of highly monodispersed, spherical gold nanoparticles of 50-200 nm. J Am Chem Soc 131:17042–17043

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Prodan E, Radloff C, Halas NJ, Nordlander P (2003) A hybridization model for the plasmon response of complex nanostructures. Science 302:419–422

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Xie JP, Zhang QB, Lee JY, Wang DIC (2008) The synthesis of SERS-active gold nanoflower tags for in vivo applications. ACS Nano 2:2473–2480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Shi HZ, Zhang LD, Cai WP (2000) Composition modulation of optical absorption in AgxAu1-x alloy nanocrystals in situ formed within pores of mesoporous silica. J Appl Phys 87:1572–1574

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Bruzzone S, Arrighini GP, Guidotti C (2003) Electromagnetic response behavior of binary metallic nanoparticles: a comparison of results from a few models of different schematicity. Mat Sci Eng C-Bio S 23:191–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Chinese National standard GB/T 22286-2008. Determination of β-agonist residues in foodstuff of animal origin-liquid chromatography with tandem-mass spectrometric method

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, contact No. 21075087 and 21175097) and a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions for financial support of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Laboratory of Health Chemistry & Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Soochow University, Renai Road 199, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Xiquan Fu, Yanxin Chu, Kang Zhao, Jianguo Li & Anping Deng

Authors
  1. Xiquan Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yanxin Chu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kang Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jianguo Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Anping Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jianguo Li or Anping Deng.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOC 3139 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fu, X., Chu, Y., Zhao, K. et al. Ultrasensitive detection of the β-adrenergic agonist brombuterol by a SERS-based lateral flow immunochromatographic assay using flower-like gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles. Microchim Acta 184, 1711–1719 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2178-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2178-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation