Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy coupled with gold nanoparticles for rapid detection of amoxicillin residues in duck meat

Antibiotic residues in meat pose serious threats to human beings and animals, and are one of the main food safety concerns all around the world. A novel method based upon surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with gold nanoparticles was developed in this study for rapid detection of amoxicillin residues in duck meat, one widely used in duck farming. Three different particle sizes of gold nanoparticles were synthesized using 0.3, 0.7, and 1.1?mL 1% trisodium citrate, while 0.7?mL was found to be the optimal volume as Raman enhancement substrate for the detection of amoxicillin residues in duck meat. The amounts of gold nanoparticles (0.5?mL), duck meat extract containing amoxicillin (50?μL), and sodium chloride solution (100?μL), as well as adsorption time (5?min) were optimized by single factor experiments. A calibration curve with the determination coefficient of 0.9661 was established for quantitative analysis of unknown amoxicillin samples. The average recoveries of amoxicillin residues in duck meat extract were 96–139%. This study provided a rapid and simple approach to analyze amoxicillin residues in duck meat in excess of 0.2?mg?L^?1 using SERS coupled with gold nanoparticles, which has the potential for wide applications in the detection of the antibiotic residues in meat.