Cysteamine-Assisted Highly Sensitive Detection of Bisphenol A in Water Samples by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy with Ag Nanoparticle-Modified Filter Paper as Substrate

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a typical endocrine disruptor. It exists everywhere in the environment for its migration from the products of polycarbonate and epoxy resin. It is feasible to develop a fast and sensitive detection method for the effective monitoring of BPA. In this paper, we utilized the advantages of Ag nanoparticle-modified filter paper and cysteamine hydrochloride (Cys) to establish a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection method of BPA. Good uniformity and more “hot spots” can be afforded with the SERS substrate fabricated by vacuum filtration of Ag nanoparticles on filter papers. Cys was used to catch BPA by the electrostatic interaction between positively charged groups of −NH3+ and hydroxy of BPA. Then, BPA-tailed Cys self-assembled to the surface of SERS substrate. Due to the preconcentration of BPA and high coverage of BPA-tailed Cys on the Ag nanoparticle-decorated filter paper, a highly sensitive detection of BPA in water samples was achieved. The method exhibited a good linear correlation ranging from 0.05 to 20 ng/mL with a limit detection of 0.005 ng/mL. Excellent recoveries in water samples from 90.2 to 121.1% were obtained.