SERS combined with QuEChERS using NBC and Fe3O4 MNPs as cleanup agents to rapidly and reliably detect chlorpyrifos pesticide in citrus

Abstract

The surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique is being increasingly used for the detection of pesticide residues in agricultural products. However, there are large amounts of fluorescence-producing substances in agricultural products, which seriously affect the Raman signal of the analyte. In this paper, the QuEChERS method was used to remove interfering fluorescent substances in the analyte, and the purification effects of different doses of nano bamboo charcoal (NBC) and Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticle (Fe₃O₄ MNP) adsorbents were studied. Meanwhile, the Raman spectral acquisition conditions (AuNPs, test solution, and NaCl) were optimized based on the orthogonal test method. The results showed that 300 µL AuNPs, 40 µL test solution, and 100 µL 1.5% NaCl gave the best SERS response effect. 12.5 mg NBC combined with 10 mg Fe₃O₄ MNPs could effectively remove the interfering substances from citrus. The Raman spectra of chlorpyrifos molecules were theoretically modeled using density-functional theory (DFT). By comparing the DFT results with the actual tests, five feature peaks, at 338, 522, 558, 672, and 1600 cm⁻¹, were obtained for the detection of chlorpyrifos pesticide residues in citrus. Based on the Raman feature peak intensity at 672 cm⁻¹, the concentration of chlorpyrifos in citrus showed a good linear relationship (R² = 0.9979) in the concentration range of 3–20 mg kg⁻¹. The recovery rate was 92.12% to 98.38%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.77% to 5.29%. The lowest detection concentration was about 3 mg kg⁻¹, and the detection time of a single sample could be completed within 15 min. This study showed that the combination of SERS and QuEChERS preprocessing methods could achieve rapid detection of chlorpyrifos pesticide residues in citrus.