Separation and detection of chemical and biological contaminants in fresh produce by a SERS-based sensing platform

The overall objectives of this multi-disciplinary project are to develop and validate novel separation and extraction methods for the efficient capture of foodborne contaminants from fresh produce and develop a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) platform for rapid detection and quantification of both chemical and biological contaminants in samples. Two approaches for isolation and separation of chemical and biological contaminants will be developed: a rapid and direct "wipe-and-extract" method based on hybrid nanocellulose films coupled with SERS for screening samples; and a novel separation/detection method using plasmofluidic devices integrated with micro electrophoresis, which will be coupled with SERS for confirmatory analysis of samples. This novel methodology can be used for simultaneous isolation and detection of both chemical and biological contaminants in fresh produce and hasn't been reported before. Specific objectives of this project are to: (1) synthesize hybrid nanocellulose films impregnated with gold or silver nanoparticles; (2) evaluate a rapid and direct method based on "wipe-and-test" process using the hybrid nanocellulose films for rapid extraction of the analyte molecules coupled with SERS analysis; (3) fabricate plasmofluidic devices integrated with micro electrophoresis to extract, isolate, and separate analytes (pesticides, bacterial cells, etc) from complex matrices; (4) evaluate a novel and integrated separation/detection method using plasmofluidic devices coupled with SERS for detection and quantification of analyte molecules; (5) establish a protocol for rapid detection of chemical and biological contaminants in real fresh produce samples (fruits and vegetables).