All-in-One Electrokinetic Strategy Coupled with a Miniaturized Chip for SERS Detection of Multipesticides

Abstract

Complexed and tiresome pretreatment processes have significantly impeded in-field analysis of environmental specimens. Herein, an all-in-one sample separation and enrichment strategy based on a compact charge-selective capture/nanoconfined enrichment (CSC/NCE) device is exploited for marker-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection of charged pesticides in matrix specimens. This tactic incorporating in situ separations, seizing, and nanoconfined enhancement can greatly elevate the effectiveness of sample pretreatment. Importantly, CSC/NCE with excellent adsorption performances and excellent plasmonic features facilitates concentration and signal amplification of electrically charged pesticides. With the introduction of an electric field on this integrated CSC/NCE, the matrix effect in samples could be significantly eradicated, and a distinct SERS response is witnessed for targeted analytes. Accurate quantification of multipesticides is achieved by synergizing the CSC/NCE chip and chemometrics, and the contents found by the CSC/NCE-based sensing strategy agree with those obtained from chromatography assays with relative deviations lower than 10%. The facile and versatile all-in-one tactic infused in a compact chip exhibits enormous potential for field-test application in chemical measurement and food safety.