SERS Substrate Based on Cysteamine-Modified Silver Nanoparticles for Rapid Detection of Amaranth Red

Amaranth red is usually used as a food colorant in carbonated drinks, but long-term excess consumption of amaranth red in carbonated drinks may lead to the loss of zinc in the human body, thus causing kidney dysfunction. In this study, we developed a simple method to combine cysteamine (Cys) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), the surface of AgNPs was modified with Cys at room temperature, and then the amino-functionalized SERS substrate was obtained, which was applied to the determination of amaranth red in carbonated drinks. The characteristic peak in Raman spectra of amaranth red showed obvious SERS enhancement at 1570 cm⁻¹, whose intensity had a good linear relationship with the concentration of amaranth red in carbonated drinks. The limits of detection (LOD) in water and carbonated drinks were calculated to be 1.49 μg/L and 4.13 μg/L, and the adjusted correlation coefficients (R²) were 0.992 and 0.990, respectively. In addition, the average recovery rate of amaranth red in carbonated drinks was 95.11–105.48%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.37–8.09%. This work provides a simple and fast method for detecting amaranth red in carbonated drinks.