Synchronized SERS-temperature dual signals generated from the same incident light for Immunochromatography assay of microcystin LR in aquatic products

Dual-signal cross-validation enhances the reliability of quantitative measurements. However, asynchronous dual signals generated from different incident light affect the acquisition time and reliability of quantitative detection. In this work, we proposed an immunochromatography (ICA) sensor that utilizes synchronized Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and temperature dual signals generated from the same incident light for analyzing microcystin-LR (MC-LR) in aquatic products. Quantitative analysis reveals a good linear correlation between the dual signals and the logarithmic concentration of MC-LR over the range of 0.001000–80.00 ng/mL. Moreover, the proposed method demonstrated excellent recovery rates and the results were similar with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, but the signal acquisition time (3 s) and overall detection time (10 mins) of our approach were significantly reduced. Therefore, a synchronized dual signals ICA sensor that combines SERS and photothermal technology was constructed for direct, rapid, and reliable detection of MC-LR, providing a promising application for field-based monitoring.