Rapid Detection of Quinolone Antibiotics in Aquatic Products by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Thin Layer Chromatography

This study presents the establishment of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy ( SERS ) combined with the thin-layer chromatography ( TLC ) method for detecting four types of quinolone antibiotics in aquatic products. The experimental procedure involved ultrasonic extraction using methanol as the extraction solvent to isolate the target ingredients. The quinolone antibiotics were separated using chromatography conditions with Merck silica gel G TLC plate as a stationary phase and a chloroform – methanol – ethyl acetate – ammonia solution (5 : 12 : 1 : 4) as a mobile phase. Silver sol was used as the matrix to obtain SERS peaks for quinolone. The quinolone antibiotics were identified using SERS in aquatic products. Subsequently, normal SERS spectra of quinolone antibiotic powder, quinolone antibiotic preparations, SERS characteristic peaks, and quinolone antibiotic in fish and shrimp were analyzed. The TLC chromatography system allowed to achieve the separation of four quinolone preparations. The system suitability test showed that the humidity range was 18–88%, and the durability range was between 20–50°C. Moreover, the established TLC-SERS method successfully identified quinolones in aquatic products. Therefore, the SERS method could achieve the effective qualitative determination of quinolones, offering high sensitivity, simple operation, and high timeliness, and is suitable for the rapid detection of quinolones.