Rapid detection of mercury in food via rhodamine 6G signal using surface-enhanced Raman scattering coupled...

Considering food safety and limitations of biorecognition elements, this study focused on the development of a novel method for predicting mercury (Hg²⁺) in fish and water samples using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) coupled wavenumber selection chemometric method. Herein, core-shell Au@Ag nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) were synthesized as SERS substrate, and rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as signaling probe for Hg²⁺. In the presence of Hg²⁺, citrate ion of Au@Ag NPs induced complexation and become amalgam causes desorption of R6G occurred, resulted in decreased SERS signal intensity. Compared to surface Plasmon resonance method, SERS coupled genetic algorithm-partial least squares realized good correlation coefficient (0.9745 and 0.9773) in their prediction over the concentration ranges 1.0 × 10² to 1.0 × 10^-3 µg/g. The recovery (88.45 - 94.73%) and precision (coefficient of variations, 3.28 - 5.76%) exhibiting satisfactory results suggested that the proposed method could be employed to predict Hg²⁺ in fish and water samples towards quality and safety monitoring.