Construction of rhodamine-based fluorescent sensor for fast, on-site quantitative detection of hazardous salicylic acid in practical sample analysis
Shi-Tao Liu, Li-Long Zhang, Shuai Tan, Kaijie Wang, A-Ling Tang, Wei Niu, Hou-Yun Huang, Meihong Ge, Linlin Yang, Xiang Zhou, Liwei Liu, Song Yang
Abstract
Salicylic acid (SA) is widely used in food storage, preservatives, additives, healthcare, and the pharmaceutical industry. However, various poisoning symptoms are frequently reported upon ingestion of a large amount of SA. Therefore, discovering new tools for sensing SA with fast, simple, and portable performance is imperative. Herein, five rhodamine-based fluorescent sensors were constructed, and investigated their SA detection profiles. Probe 1 was excellent selective with a rapid response, highly sensitive (LOD = 2.5 μM), good interference resistance, and unaided eye recognition. The spray experiment and paper-based test strips indicating that probe 1 enables to the on-site and quantitatively detect SA on actual food surfaces by using a smartphone identifying the RGB values. The sensing performance was validated in soil samples, water, and various agricultural food samples. Overall, the constructed SA sensor can function as a promising, convenient, and affordable tool for point-of-care detection of SA in diversiform environmental samples. • The constructed fluorescent probes can rapidly and selectively respond to salicylic acid. • The “off-on” behavior of the probe occurs by hydrogen bond interaction. • A-rapid visual, quantitative detection is established by portable smartphone. • This sensor successfully detects salicylic acid in various real food samples.