Dummy molecular imprinted polymers coated with silver microspheres via surface enhanced Raman scattering for sensitive detection of benzimidazole

Dummy molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) with carbendazim as a dummy template coated with Ag microspheres were fabricated in N, N-dimethylformamide solution via a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement for detection of benzimidazole by using methylacrylamide and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively. The scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, particle size distribution analysis, and X-ray diffraction were used to perform the morphology, size, and crystal structure for prepared Ag@dummy MIPs. Under the optimal conditions, the SERS detection method presented good linearity with concentrations in the range of 1.0 × 10^-3 ~ 1.0 × 10^-8 mol L^-1 for benzimidazole at 774 cm⁻¹ and 1004 cm⁻¹, respectively. And the minimum detection concentration of this method was as low as 1.0 × 10^-8 mol L^-1. Besides, Ag@dummy MIPs exhibited satisfactory sensitivity and selectivity to benzimidazole instead of carbendazim due to the dummy imprinting technology to eliminate the background noise interference. The reusability result of Ag@dummy MIPs was shown that the characteristic peaks of benzimidazole are still obvious after four times of repeated detection. This method provided an effective way to develop a qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of benzimidazole in complex matrices.