Facile colorimetric method for simple and rapid detection of endotoxin based on counterion-mediated gold nanorods aggregation

• A visual method for rapid analysis of endotoxin based on AuNRs is reported for the first time.
• The performance of AuNRs with different aspect ratios is compared.
• The high specificity of endotoxin detection could be achieved with a low detecting limit.
• The real sample analysis realized with excellent analyte concentration recovery.

Existence of endotoxin in food and injection products indicates bacterial contaminations and therefore poses threat to human health. Herein, a simple and rapid colorimetric method for the effective detection of endotoxin in food and injections based on counterion-mediated gold nanorods aggregation is first proposed. By taking advantage of the color change of unmodified gold nanorods resulted from endotoxin mediated gold nanorods aggregation, endotoxin could be detected in the concentration range of 0.01–0.6 μM. Further, we studied the performance of gold nanorods with different aspect ratios (2.7 and 3.3) in determination of endotoxin and found that gold nanorods with higher aspect ratio (AR) showed superiority in the sensing sensitivity of endotoxin. A good specificity for endotoxin, a detection limit of 0.0084 μM and recoveries ranging from 84% to 109% in spiked food and injection samples are obtained with the colorimetric method. Results demonstrate that the present method provides a novel and effective approach for on-site screening of endotoxin in common products, which is beneficial for monitoring and reducing the risk of bacterial contaminations in food and injections production.