Green Textile Materials for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Identification of Pesticides Using a Raman Handheld Spectrometer for In-Field Detection

Abstract

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy has evolved into a powerful analytical method in food and environmental analytical sciences due to its high sensitivity. Pesticide analysis is a major discipline therein. Using sustainable materials has become increasingly important to adhere to Green Chemistry principles. Hence, the green textiles poly-(L-lactic acid) (PLA) and the mixed fabric polyethylene terephthalate polyamide (PET/PA) were investigated for their applicability as solid supports for gold nanoparticles to yield SERS substrates. Gold nanoparticle solutions and green textile supports were prepared after preparation optimization. Particle size, dispersity and particle distribution over the textiles were characterized by absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron imaging. The performance of the SERS substrates was tested using the three pesticides imidacloprid, paraquat and thiram and a handheld Raman spectrometer with a laser wavelength of 785 nm. The resulting SERS spectra possessed an intra-substrate variation of 7 to 8% in terms of the residual standard deviation. The inter-substrate variations amounted to 15% for PET/PA and to 27% for PLA. Substrate background signals were smaller with PLA but more enhanced through PET/PA. The pesticides could be detected at 1 pg on PET/PA and at 3 ng on PLA. Hence, PET/PA woven textile soaked with gold nanoparticle solution provides green SERS substrates and might prove - in combination with fieldable Raman spectrometers - suitable for in-field analytics for pesticide identification.

Pesticide Identification Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory Calculations: From Structural Insights to On-Site Detection

“…Substrates were made of simple filter paper or textiles, other substrates were produced by more complex, yet more reproducible methods such as laser ablation and gas deposition. 7,8 The simplest type of SERS active substrate is a nanoparticle suspension to which the dissolved analyte is added. 9 Comprehensive overviews of substrates used for SERS and numerous resulting spectra have been given.…”

Gold nanostars loaded fabrics as flexible, low-cost SERS substrates and swab-based detection of thiram on fruits and vegetables

“…Fabrics offer several advantages over filter paper in sensing, including much lower porosity, uniformly interwoven fibers (filter papers have randomly arranged cellulose fibers), increased durability that prevents tearing, and easier handling on rough surfaces wherein the likelihood of tear or break is less during swabbing. The availability of various fabrics such as cotton, nylon, wool, silk, polyester woven, Zari fabrics, etc, is attractive as flexible materials [27][28][29][30][31][32]. Robinson et al [33] have recently investigated the Zari fabric with chemically synthesized Ag NPs via incubation, deposition, and in situ synthesis.…”

Luminescent Probe Based on Terbium-Carbon Quantum Dots for the Quantification of Imidacloprid in Caneberries

“…Te main analytical methods for its analysis in food samples involve liquid chromatography [13][14][15][16]; nevertheless, despite their high detection accuracy and precision, these methods require complex and timeconsuming laboratory procedures. UV/vis absorption [17], Raman [18,19], chemiluminescence [20,21], or fuorescence [22][23][24][25] spectroscopy are also alternatives for IMID determination.…”