Reusable and In-Situ Electrodeposited SPE-PB-Ag Substrate: Advancing EC-SERS for efficient acetamiprid detection in fruits and vegetables

In agriculture, the spread of pesticides, especially neonicotinoid acetamiprid (AAP), has raised concerns about food residues which are of relevance to public health and safety. To solve this problem, we have developed a high-throughput detection method, electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (EC-SERS), which can detect AAP quickly and sensitively in fruit and vegetables. Our method involves the creation of a new label-free substrate, SPE-PB-Ag, by means of an in situ electrodeposition process that is directly applicable to the detection of pesticide residues in EC-SERS. This substrate demonstrated a broad linear range of detection from 0.1 μM to 100 μM at a potential of −0.6 V and a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.038 μM, which is 10-fold higher than the conventional SERS method (LOD, 0.366 μM). The potential used effectively modulated the stable physical adsorption interactions between the AAP molecules and the substrate surface, thus optimising the EC-SERS detection process. Moreover, the SPE-PB-Ag EC-SERS substrate exhibits the ability to be regenerated through simple washing with pure water, thus sustaining its high enhancement effect over multiple uses. Therefore, this study presents an innovative, convenient, rapid, and reliable strategy for the detection of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables, advancing the field of food safety and environmental monitoring.