Detection of carbendazim by surface-enhanced Raman scattering using cyclodextrin inclusion complexes on gold nanorods

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was used for the detection of carbendazim using gold nanorods derivatized with a beta-cyclodextrin derivative to bind this fungicide. Gold nanorods were synthesized with an aspect ratio of 3.3 to match the 785 nm excitation wavelength used in the SERS studies. A thiolated cyclodextrin-based sensor molecule was synthesized, and its inclusion complex with carbendazim was formed and studied using SERS spectroscopy. SERS analysis of the inclusion complex at different concentrations in the presence of gold nanorods afforded good quality Raman spectra of carbendazim at micromolar concentrations. Quantitative analysis was preformed using partial least-squares (PLS), and a calibration plot for these data was generated. Results suggest that carbendazim concentrations as low as 50 microM can be accurately detected using the described SERS assay.