TY - JOUR
T1 - Label-Free Mycotoxin Raman Identification by High-Performing Plasmonic Vertical Carbon Nanostructures
AU - M. Santhosh, Neelakandan
AU - Shvalya, Vasyl
AU - Modic, Martina
AU - Hojnik, Nataša
AU - Zavašnik, Janez
AU - Olenik, Jaka
AU - Košiček, Martin
AU - Filipič, Gregor
AU - Abdulhalim, Ibrahim
AU - Cvelbar, Uroš
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - Mycotoxins are widespread chemical entities in the agriculture and food industries that can induce cancer growth and immune deficiency, posing a serious health threat for humankind. These hazardous compounds are produced naturally by various molds (fungi) that contaminate different food products and can be detected in cereals, nuts, spices, and other food products. However, their detection, especially at minimally harmful concentrations, remains a serious analytical challenge. This research shows that high-performing plasmonic substrates (analytical enhancement factor = 5 × 107) based on plasma-grown vertical hollow carbon nanotubes can be applied for immediate detection of the most toxic mycotoxins. Due to excellent sensitivity allowing operation at ppb concentrations, it is possible to collect vibrational fingerprints of aflatoxin B1, zearalenone, alternariol, and fumonisin B1, highlighting the key spectral differences between them using principal component analysis. Regarding time-consuming conventional methods, including thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the designed surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates provide a clear roadmap to reducing the detection time-scale of mycotoxins down to seconds.
AB - Mycotoxins are widespread chemical entities in the agriculture and food industries that can induce cancer growth and immune deficiency, posing a serious health threat for humankind. These hazardous compounds are produced naturally by various molds (fungi) that contaminate different food products and can be detected in cereals, nuts, spices, and other food products. However, their detection, especially at minimally harmful concentrations, remains a serious analytical challenge. This research shows that high-performing plasmonic substrates (analytical enhancement factor = 5 × 107) based on plasma-grown vertical hollow carbon nanotubes can be applied for immediate detection of the most toxic mycotoxins. Due to excellent sensitivity allowing operation at ppb concentrations, it is possible to collect vibrational fingerprints of aflatoxin B1, zearalenone, alternariol, and fumonisin B1, highlighting the key spectral differences between them using principal component analysis. Regarding time-consuming conventional methods, including thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the designed surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates provide a clear roadmap to reducing the detection time-scale of mycotoxins down to seconds.
KW - SERS substrate
KW - mycotoxins detection
KW - plasma-enhanced deposition
KW - vertical carbon nanostructures
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116918049&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/smll.202103677
DO - 10.1002/smll.202103677
M3 - Article
C2 - 34636140
AN - SCOPUS:85116918049
SN - 1613-6810
VL - 17
JO - Small
JF - Small
IS - 49
M1 - 2103677
ER -
