Rational fabrication of molecularly imprinted polymers based ratiometric fluorescence sensing platform with aggregation-induced emission effect for visual detection of 6PPD-Q in aquatic products

A novel ratiometric fluorescence molecularly imprinted probe was developed. • High-affinity imprinted sites granted the sensor superior specificity. • The aggregation-induced emission effect boosted the response sensitivity. • Smartphone-assist device offered a precise visual and on-site detection. • The YOLOv5 algorithm achieved a prediction accuracy of 99.6%. N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)- N ′-phenyl-p-benzoquinone (6PPD-Q) is ubiquitous in aquatic environments and poses big threats to food safety and public health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop timely and effective methods to detect 6PPD-Q. In this work, the Zn-doped silicon quantum dots and Au nanoclusters were embedded in the molecularly imprinted polymers to form ratiometric fluorescence sensor for the detection of 6PPD-Q in the concentration ranging from 0.0099 to 1.0 μg·mL −1 with the detection limit of 3.0 ng·mL −1 . The imprinting factor was calculated as 2.56. Then, a 3D-printing device was developed to capture fluorescence for images digital image colorimetry of 6PPD-Q while YOLOv5 algorithm was employed to achieve a prediction accuracy of 99.6%. The recovery rates for real sample analysis ranged from 95.5% to 108.0%. This method offers a simple and rapid strategy for detecting 6PPD-Q in food samples.