PAMAM dendrimer-based tongue rapidly identifies multiple antibiotics
Lian Xu, Hao Wang, Wenqi Xiao, Wenhui Zhang, Callum Stewart, Hui Huang, Fei Li, Jinsong Han
Abstract
The overuse of antibiotics has resulted in severe environmental pollution. Most conventional techniques for antibiotic detection are time-consuming, professional operator-dependent and require expensive instruments. Herein, we describe a simple optoelectronic tongue consisting of three elaborately designed fifth-generation PAMAMs (PF1-PF3) to achieve rapid detection of antibiotics. 19 antibiotics were rapidly and accurately differentiated in water with 97% accuracy via this minimal tongue, proving the rationality of the array’s design. Furthermore, this tongue enabled the parallel detection of multiple sulfonamide residues (0.05 mM) in milk samples with 100% accuracy, demonstrating robust real sample detection capability. In this strategy, we have provided an efficient way for the comprehensive identification and determination of antibiotics.