Highly sensitive and selective erythromycin nanosensor employing fiber optic SPR/ERY imprinted nanostructure: Application in milk and honey

An erythromycin (ERY) detection method is proposed using the fiber optic core decorated with the coatings of silver and an over layer of ERY imprinted nanoparticles. Synthesis of ERY imprinted nanoparticles is carried out using miniemulsion method. The operating range of the sensor is observed to be from 1.62×10⁻³ to 100 µM while the sensor possesses the linear response for ERY concentration range from 0.1 to 5 µM. The sensing method shows a maximum sensitivity of 205 nm/µM near ERY concentration of 0.01 µM. The detection limit and the quantification limit of the sensor are found to be 1.62×10⁻³ µM and 6.14×10⁻³ µM, respectively. The sensor's applicability in real samples is also examined and is found to be in good agreement for the industrial application. The sensor possesses numerous advantages like fast response time (<15 s), simple, low cost, highly selective along with abilities towards online monitoring and remote sensing of analyte.