Highly Sensitive Detection of Zearalenone in Feed Samples Using Competitive Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Immunoassay

Accurate and quantitative analysis of mycotoxin (such as zearalenone) is particularly imperative in the field of food safety and animal husbandry. Here, we develop a sensitive and specific method for zearalenone detection using competitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) immunoassay. In this assay, a functional gold nanoparticle was labeled with the Raman reporter and the zearalenone antibody, and a modified substrate was assembled with the zearalenone–bovine serum albumin. With the addition of free zearalenone, the competitive immune reaction between free zearalenone and zearalenone–bovine serum albumin was initiated for binding with zearalenone antibody labeled on gold nanoparticle, resulting in the change of SERS signal intensity. The proposed method exhibits high sensitivity with a detection limit of 1 pg/mL and a wide dynamic range from 1 to 1000 pg/mL. Furthermore, this method can be further applied to analyze the multiple natural feed samples contaminated with zearalenone, holding great potential for real sample detection.