Simple and Selective Colorimetric Detection of Oxytetracycline Based on Fe(III) Ion-3,3’,5,5’-Tetramethylbenzidine

Abstract

Oxytetracycline (OTC) is a common antibacterial agent used for the control of animal diseases. OTC abuse can seriously affect human health. Herein, based on the Fe(III)-3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (Fe(III)-TMB) system, a facile and rapid colorimetricassay for oxytetracycline (OTC) was successfully developed. The addition of OTC could remarkably enhance the Fe(III)-oxidized TMB reaction and the absorbance increase of Fe(III)-TMB solution is proportional to the added OTC. The linear range of proposed sensor for OTC was from 20 nM to 1000 nM with the detection limit of 7.97 nM. The high sensitivity for OTC detection was successfully achieved under optimal conditions. For real sample analysis, recoveries of 89.93% to 100.02% was obtained. This is the first report for detecting OTC based on the nonenzymatic colorimetric reaction using the intrinsic oxidized activity of OTC/Fe3+ complex. The present simple, low-cost and visualized sensor has great potential for OTC detection in food.