Rapid determination of Ractopamine by SERS coupled with size-tunable Au-Ag alloy

Excessive consumption of β-adrenergic agonists from livestock, poultry, or viscera can present serious health risks, potentially endangering lives. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provides a precise method for measuring levels of β-adrenergic agonists. This study involved collecting spectra of ractopamine aqueous solutions by synthesizing Au@Ag NPS alloy substrates. A linear relationship between the concentration of ractopamine (ranged from 1 to 10 mg/L) and SERS intensity. Automatic Whittaker Filter (AWF) algorithm was used to preprocess the Raman spectra to remove the fluorescence background. A linear regression model was established between the SERS intensity of different Raman characteristic peaks of ractopamine and the content of ractopamine solution. The established model had linear relationship with a correlation coefficient R2 of 0.98 and RMSE of 0.332 mg/L. This method provides a new idea for the determination of ractopamine. This study is helpful to develop a simple, low-cost and easy-to-store SERS method for the detection of ractopamine based on Au@Ag NPS.