Reliable and Rapid Detection and Quantification of Enrofloxacin Using a Ratiometric SERS Aptasensor

Reliable detection and quantification of antibiotic residues in food using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy remain challenging, since the intensities of SERS signals are vulnerable to matrix and experimental factors. In this work, a ratiometric SERS aptasensor using 6-Carboxyl-X-Rhodamine (ROX)-labeled aptamers and 4-mercaptobenzonitrile (4-MBN)-functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as SERS probes was established for the reliable and rapid detection and quantification of enrofloxacin. In the presence of enrofloxacin, the conformational transform of aptamers took place, and the distance between ROX and Au NP increased, which resulted in a decrease in the SERS signal intensity of ROX. Meanwhile, the intensity of the SERS signal of 4-MBN was used as an internal standard. Reliable determination of enrofloxacin was realized using the ratio of the SERS signal intensities of ROX to 4-MBN. Under optimal conditions, the developed ratiometric SERS aptasensor provided a wide linear range from 5 nM to 1 µM, with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.98 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.12 nM (0.043 ppb). In addition, the developed ratiometric SERS aptasensor was successfully applied for the determination of enrofloxacin in fish and chicken meat, with recovery values of 93.6–112.0%. Therefore, the established ratiometric SERS aptasensor is sensitive, reliable, time-efficient, and has the potential to be applied in the on-site detection of enrofloxacin in complex matrices.