CD-MOF-assisted phase transfer combined with SERS for rapid and eco-friendly detection of zearalenone in edible oil

A novel and eco-friendly ZEN phase transfer method was developed using CD-MOF. • Amphiphilic character of CD-MOF promotes transfer of ZEN from oil to aqueous phase. • CTAB micelles on Au NRs facilitated adsorption of hydrophobic ZEN to its hotspot. • Rapid SERS sensing of ZEN was achieved based on this novel pretreatment method. An eco-friendly phase-transfer method based on cyclodextrin-metal-organic framework (CD-MOF) was developed to extract zearalenone (ZEN) from edible oil into aqueous phase. Leveraging this green pretreatment approach, a rapid surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensing platform was established for ZEN detection. CD-MOF possesses an amphiphilic structure, whose hydrophobic cavities can encapsulate ZEN to form host-guest complexes. The gradual structural collapse of CD-MOF leads to the release of ZEN into the aqueous phase, achieving efficient oil-to-water transfer with an extraction efficiency of 80–90%. Following this extraction method, SERS detection was achieved using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-capped gold nanorods (Au NRs). The CTAB bilayer on the Au NR surface facilitates the adsorption of hydrophobic ZEN toward the plasmonic hotspots, significantly enhancing the Raman signal. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of CD-MOF extraction and Au NRs-based SERS enhancement, rapid detection of ZEN in corn oil was achieved with performance comparable to that of conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Download: Download high-res image (110KB) Download: Download full-size image