Tehseen Yaseen

Bio: Tehseen Yaseen is an academic researcher from South China University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Detection limit & Thiacloprid. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 6 publications receiving 356 citations. Previous affiliations of Tehseen Yaseen include Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center.

Functionalization techniques for improving SERS substrates and their applications in food safety evaluation: A review of recent research trends

Abstract: Background Food safety and quality have gained much attention in recent years and the capability to evaluate food quality and safety in a sensitive, rapid, and reliable manner is of great importance in the food industry. Therefore, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with the advantages of excellent sensitivity, high selectivity, non-destructive nature and significant enhancement to identify the target has demonstrated a great potential for quick detection of chemical contaminants, chemical constitutes, and pathogens in food samples. Scope and approach The enhancement of Raman signals for SERS is not only related to the interactions between substrates and samples but also the functionalization of substrates to gain SERS active substrates. In the present review, different types of substrates are briefly discussed, functionalization techniques for SERS active substrates are discussed, and applications of functionalized SERS substrate in food samples are presented. Conclusions and key findings It is evident that functionalization techniques for improving SERS substrates have given encouraging outcomes, which provides possibility for identifying multiple target analytes within a complex matrix, and thus could be used as a powerful analytical tool in real-world applications in food safety analysis as well as for enhancing food quality surveillance.

Raman imaging for food quality and safety evaluation: Fundamentals and applications

Abstract: Background Food quality and safety is of great concern to governments, the food industry, as well as consumers. Thus, research has been conducted to develop advanced detection techniques instead of traditional methods to provide rapid, non-destructive food quality and safety evaluation and analysis for the industry. Scope and approach As an emerging technology, Raman imaging has been successfully studied in food safety assessment and control. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the applications of Raman imaging in the area of food quality evaluation, assessment of adulterants and contaminants, and detection of pesticides. Other relevant techniques are also reported due to their close relationship with food safety control. Conclusions and key findings With these applications, it is evident that Raman imaging has given promising results and thus could be a powerful technique for food quality surveillance as well as for reducing the occurrence of food safety issues.

Detection of omethoate residues in peach with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Abstract: In this work, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used with silver colloid substrate for rapid detection of omethoate (an organophosphate pesticide) in standard solution and peach extract. The findings demonstrated that the characteristic wavenumber of the pesticide could be precisely identified using the SERS method. The calibration curve was plotted between concentrations and Raman intensities of the target peak at 1649 cm−1 for the peach extract and at 1647 cm−1 for the standard solution. The coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.9829 and 0.98 were obtained for standard solution and for peach extract, respectively. The calculated limits of detection for omethoate in standard solution and in peach extracts were 0.001 mg L−1 and 0.01 mg kg−1, respectively. This study revealed that the proposed method could be used for the analysis of trace contaminants like omethoate in multifaceted food matrices.

Effects of Ions on Core-Shell Bimetallic Au@Ag NPs for Rapid Detection of Phosalone Residues in Peach by SERS

Abstract: The sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) extremely relies on experimental parameters including pH and aggregating agents. Using Au@Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with 26 nm Au core size and 6 nm Ag shell thickness as the substrate, the effect of cationic (Ca2+, K+, Na+) and anionic (Cl−, Br−) aggregating agents was investigated on the SERS detection of phosalone. The optimum concentrations of the aggregating agents in relation to the maximum SERS intensity differed broadly from 1 × 10−2 mol/L for CaBr2 to 1 × 101 mol/L for KCl. Both anions and cations greatly affected the SERS enhancement. With employing Br− as the anion, Ca2+ and K+ showed the maximum SERS intensities for phosalone, while using Ca2+ as the cation, Br− produced the maximum SERS enhancement. Among these aggregating agent combinations, the maximum SERS enhancement was achieved by employing 1 × 10−2 mol/L CaBr2 at pH 3.0. The detection limits of phosalone in standard solution and peach were 0.02 mg/L and 0.2 mg/kg, respectively. This study demonstrated that the Au@Ag NP-based SERS approach could be used as a sensitive, rapid, and simple method for detecting trace contaminants in food matrices.

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): A novel reliable technique for rapid detection of common harmful chemical residues

Abstract: Background The irrational usage of chemical substances including pesticides and drugs in agricultural and food production is a significant food safety issue due to its residues. Therefore, the detection of harmful residues in foods is an indispensable step for guaranteeing the consumer's health. Conventional methods, such as HPLC, GC-MS and LC-MS are accurate enough, but they fail to meet the requirements of the modern industry for rapid and on-line detection. Novel reliable techniques should thus be developed as alternatives. Scope and approach In this review, fundamentals of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is introduced. Recent advances in its usage for detecting harmful chemical residues in agricultural products including pesticides, antibiotics and β2-adrenergic agonists are discussed by two typical ways of detection improvement, and the advantages of SERS are addressed. Finally, future trends to routine use of SERS applications in harmful residues are presented. Key findings and conclusions SERS is a promising detection technique for the detection of common harmful chemical residues with merits of simple sampling, rapid data collection and non-destructiveness. Despite rapid developments in the technology, there is much studies should be done before SERS could be used as a daily tool for the industry.

Stable, Flexible, and High-Performance SERS Chip Enabled by a Ternary Film-Packaged Plasmonic Nanoparticle Array.

Abstract: The high sensitivity and long-term storage stability of a plasmonic substrate are vital for practical applications of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique in real-world analysis. In this study, a rationally designed, ternary film-packaged, silver-coated gold-nanoparticle (Au@Ag NP) plasmonic array was fabricated and applied as a stable and high-performance SERS chip for highly sensitive sensing of thiabendazole (TBZ) residues in fruit juices. The ternary films played different roles in the plasmonic chip: a newborn poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film serving as a template for fixing the self-assembled closely packed monolayer Au@Ag NP array that provided an intensive hot spot, a fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction adhesive film (qPCR film) acting as a carrier to retrieve the Au@Ag/PMMA film that was used to improve the robustness of the plasmonic array, and a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film covered over the Au@Ag/PMMA/qPCR film performing as a barrier to improve the stability of the chip. The Au@Ag/PMMA/qPCR-PET film chip showed high sensitivity with an enhancement factor of 3.14 × 106, long-term storage stability without changing SERS signals for more than 2 months at room temperatures, and a low limit of detection for sensing TBZ in pear juice (21 ppb), orange juice (43 ppb), and grape juice (69 ppb). In addition, the procedure for fabricating the Au@Ag/PMMA/qPCR-PET film SERS chip was easy to handle, offering a new strategy to develop flexible and wearable sensors for on-site monitoring of chemical contaminants with a portable Raman spectrometer in the future.

Advances in flexible surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates for nondestructive food detection: Fundamentals and recent applications

Abstract: Background Food safety has attracted considerable attention in recent years. As a rapid, fingerprint-type recognition and nondestructive detection technique, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been among the promising techniques to meet the increasing needs for food safety analysis. Currently, emerging flexible SERS substrates as an alternative for colloidal and rigid SERS substrates have received great interest. Flexible SERS substrates possess the advantages of easy sampling by wrapping or swabbing on nonplanar surfaces, which facilitate the detection of contaminants from food surfaces and shed new lights on the nondestructive and sensitive detection of food analytes. Scope and approach In this review, the characteristics of different flexible materials such as cellulose, polymer film, cotton fabric, adhesive tape and bio-materials for constructing flexible SERS substrates are introduced, detection strategies including infiltration scheme, swab-sampling and in-situ detection are discussed, and recent applications of flexible SERS substrates in detecting trace pesticides in fruits and vegetables, chemical residues in animal farming including fungicides and antibiotics, illegal food additives and food-borne pathogens are highlighted. Key findings and conclusions Flexible SERS substrates have been increasingly studied for detecting food contaminants. In preparing SERS substrates, different properties of the materials should be considered. For the detection strategies, compared with conventional infiltration scheme, swab-sampling is unique for flexible substrates and can collect target molecules directly from the surface, while in-situ detection is the most convenient, facile and nondestructive. Encouraging application results available show that flexible SERS substrates possess enormous potentials for food safety analysis and surveillance.

Evolving trends in SERS-based techniques for food quality and safety: A review

Abstract: Background Food quality and safety are very important from health as well as fiscal point of view. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) techniques have unique advantages in the field of food detection , with characteristics of fast analysis speed, high detection sensitivity, and without interference from the water phase. Scope and approach In this review, recent and potential advances in the application of SERS in food safety and quality from the perspective of SERS substrate and SERS composite systems are addressed. SERS systems such as molecular labeling, immunochromatographic assay, microfluidics, molecularly imprinted polymers, colorimetry and imaging are discussed, and their main advantages and limitations are highlighted. The applications of SERS in food safety are reviewed critically, with focus on the detection of microorganisms, pesticides, metal ions and antibiotics. Furthermore, applications of SERS in food quality regarding food freshness and ingredients are discussed. Key findings and conclusions SERS technology has been widely used in food testing, but it still has shortcomings. In order to establish SERS as a routine tool for the monitoring of food safety and quality, future research should focus on minimizing technical costs, standardizing experimental protocols, developing new SERS substrates, and integrating SERS with other methods to overcome its shortcomings.