A highly sensitive octopus-like azobenzene fluorescent probe for determination of abamectin B1 in apples

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 4655
• Main Authors: Guo, Zhenlong, Su, YiFei, Li, Kexin, Tang, MengYi, Li, Qiang, Xu, Shandong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 25.02.2021; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Abamectin; Apples; Benzene; Fluorescence; Fluorescent indicators; Fruits; Fungicides; Hydrocarbons; Insecticides; Ionization; Mass spectroscopy; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Public health; Spectrometry
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84221-w

Abstract The development of detecting residual level of abamectin B 1 in apples is of great importance to public health. Herein, we synthesized a octopus-like azobenzene fluorescent probe 1,3,5-tris (5′-[( E )-( p -phenoxyazo) diazenyl)] benzene-1,3-dicarboxylic acid) benzene (TPB) for preliminary detection of abamectin B 1 in apples. The TPB molecule has been characterized by ultraviolet–visible absorption spectrometry, 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance, fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) and fluorescent spectra. A proper determination condition was optimized, with limit of detection and limit of quantification of 1.3 µg L −1 and 4.4 μg L −1 , respectively. The mechanism of this probe to identify abamectin B 1 was illustrated in terms of undergoing aromatic nucleophilic substitution, by comparing fluorescence changes, FT-IR and ESI-MS. Furthermore, a facile quantitative detection of the residual abamectin B 1 in apples was achieved. Good reproducibility was present based on relative standard deviation of 2.2%. Six carboxyl recognition sites, three azo groups and unique fluorescence signal towards abamectin B 1 of this fluorescent probe demonstrated reasonable sensitivity, specificity and selectivity. The results indicate that the octopus-like azobenzene fluorescent probe can be expected to be reliable for evaluating abamectin B 1 in agricultural foods.