Detection of the chiral drug Ephedrine by resonance Rayleigh scattering based on Ce3+ functionalized gold nanoparticles

Two chiral drugs, ephedrine (EH) and pseudoephedrine (PEH), were commonly used in clinical treatment. Ephedrine (EH) and pseudoephedrine (PEH) could make different changes in resonance Rayleigh scattering spectrum of the detection system which use Ce 3+ functionalized gold nanoparticles as probe. Therefore, a new method of detecting EH and PEH separately was developed. The RRS spectrum and UV–Vis absorption spectrum of AuNPs-Ce 3+ detection system was analyzed in order to discuss the mechanism. Under optimal experimental conditions, the linear range of EH and PEH were 20–920 ng/mL and 40–520 ng/mL, respectively. The detection limit were 1.9 ng/mL and 3.8 ng/mL, respectively. Last used for actual testing, this method had obtained good results.