Agriculture : Pesticide and Herbicide Detection

Carbaryl pesticides have been used to fight against pests to increase the yields of agricultural products. Because of their ability of inactivating acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carbaryl are considered to have potent neurotoxicity. Exposure carbaryl even at low to mild doses, may lead to long-term nervous system effects. For the last decade, public concerns over pesticide residues in foods and vegetable have been increasing due to the threatening toxicity towards ecological environment and human health. The carbaryl pesticides detection by using Surface-Enhance Raman Scattering (SERS) Spectroscopy had been studied. Carbaryl can be detected with the limit of detection (LOD) of 10^-5 M.

Daily Milk : Melamine Detection

Food : Antibiotic Detection (Oxytetracycline)

Antibiotics have been broadly used in aquacultures, to prevent and treat several infections caused by bacteria. To meet the increasing global market demand for seafood, the production development has been accompanied by using excessive amounts of antibiotics. Several antibiotics have been shown to cause health risks, such as antibiotic-resistance, immune deficiency, and cancer. Although many countries have regulated or even banned the use of several antibiotics, they continue to be misused in aquacultures to pursue economic interests. SERS substrates, the method can precisely identify the antibiotics in a mixture down to a trace concentration of 10^-6 M.