Selective and sensitive determination of cypermethrin in fish via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-like method based on molecularly imprinted artificial antibody-quantum dot optosensing materials

Molecularly imprinted silica layers appended to quantum dots (MIP-QDs) with customized selective artificial recognition sites were fabricated in this study by optimizing the ratio of the functional monomer to the template. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–emmett–teller, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and selectivity assay analyses were also performed. Results demonstrated that the selective fluorescence quenching properties of MIP-QDs toward cypermethrin (CYP) are due to strong interactions between these molecules. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-like method based on the MIP-QDs was established under optimal conditions. The fluorescence quenching observed from this method showed a linear relationship with CYP concentration over the range of 0.05–60.0 mg/kg with a correlation coefficient of 0.9838. Good recovery (82.7–92.4%) and a relative standard deviation of less than 10.1% were obtained from fish samples spiked with three levels of CYP. This method also demonstrated a low detection limit of 1.2 μg/kg. The ELISA-like method based on MIP-QDs can be successfully employed to detect residual of CYP in fish samples.