SERS-based sensing technique for trace melamine detection - A new method exploring.

We present a SERS-based method for the detection of melamine utilizing multi-hydrogen bonding induced charge-transfer (CT) effects. In this system, silver-2-nitro-5-mercaptobenzoic acids (Ag-TNBs) were chosen as the promising probe for melamine sensing. This method relies on the multi-hydrogen-bonding between TNB and melamine which leads to significant Raman frequency shifts in Raman spectra. When being exposure to other potential interfering substances in milk, this system exhibits high selectivity towards melamine. The limit of detection (LOD) of this method is as low as 10(-12)M, which is far below the safety of FDA and USA. The proposed method can be further applied to monitoring the amount of melamine in both caw milk and milk powder.