SERS investigation of ciprofloxacin drug molecules on TiO2 nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper, TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) with different crystallinity served as SERS-active substrates for SERS detection of ciprofloxacin (CIP) drug molecules for the first time. CIP is close to the surface of the TiO₂ substrate through the carboxyl group. The mutual SERS enhancement behaviors between CIP molecules and TiO₂ NPs were discovered, which are attributed to the contribution of the TiO₂-to-molecule charge-transfer mechanism. The crystallinity of TiO₂ NPs, the pH value of adsorption solution and the adsorption time have significant influences on the interaction and the SERS behavior between CIP and TiO₂. When the calcination temperature of TiO₂ NPs is 450 °C, the pH value of adsorption solution is 6 and the adsorption time is 9 h, the CIP molecules on TiO₂ NPs exhibit the largest SERS enhancement.