Amnesic shellfish poisoning biotoxin detection in seawater using pure or amino-functionalized Ag nanoparticles and SERS

•SERS detection of ASP (amnesic shellfish poisoning) biotoxin in seawater.•Limit of detection much lower than the admitted level by the current regulations.•Amino-functionalized Ag nanoparticles as SERS probes allowed higher LOD.•Raman and SERS spectra of domoic acid completely assigned.

Domoic acid (DA) biotoxin responsible for the amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) has been unambiguously detected in seawater in a broad range of concentration, with both pure and amino-functionalized Ag nanoparticles employed for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). To achieve this, a comprehensive SERS study on DA dissolved in distilled water has been conducted. SERS of DA dissolved in seawater in concentrations ranging from 3.3×10−4 to 3.3×10−8 mol l−1 exhibited specific signal, completely different to those of the corresponding DA aqueous solutions, due to the seawater interference in the overall SERS effect. In order to assess the capability of the technique as a cheaper alternative for rapid and unambiguous detection of the DA biotoxin in seawater, three detection schemes have been proposed. DA was detectable at 0.33 nmol l−1 concentration (0.33) dissolved in distilled water and 0.033 nmol l−1 (0.033 ppb) in seawater respectively, much lower than the admitted level by the current regulation. A solvent specific interaction of DA with the NPs was concluded, since DA aqueous solution added to Ag nanoparticles provided different SERS signal compared to that of DA directly dissolved in seawater. Employing amino-functionalized Ag nanoparticles with 4-aminothiophenol as SERS tag, SERS signal of DA on amino-AgNPs revealed significant specificity associated with the aromatic primary amine interaction of the SERS tag with DA, thus allowing DA detection in seawater at 4.16×10−4 mol l−1 concentration, much higher than in the case of pure NPs. To highlight the findings, a brief literature review to date on the DA biotoxin detection was also provided.

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