Aggregating-agent-assisted surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based detection of acrylamide in fried foods: A case...

This study developed a simple, rapid, stable, and reliable technique for acrylamide (AAm) detection through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on an AgNPs substrate with an aggregating agent. Specifically, the agglomeration effects of five types of salt solutions (NaCl, KCl, MgCl₂, Na₂SO₄, and MgSO₄) were investigated at different concentrations and optimized using an orthogonal experiment. The optimal amounts of the aggregating agent, analytes, and AgNPs were 4, 4, and 12 μL, respectively. A linear relationship (peak area I₁₄₄₉ = 7.4197x + 5984.8, R² = 0.9971) between the characteristic peak area and AAm concentration was established in the range of 10 to 500 μg/L, and the LOD was 2.5 μg/L. The recoveries and relative standard deviations in the analysis of potato chips samples were 94.67 %-117.50 % and 8.43 %-12.29 %, respectively. The results of the proposed method were consistent with those obtained by LC-MS/MS method. This study demonstrated that SERS has excellent potential for application in the qualitative and quantitative analyses of AAm in fried foods.