SERS substrate based on COFs@Ag for rapid detection of pefloxacin

The detection of pefloxacin in milk is of significant importance for food safety. Traditional methods for detecting pefloxacin often rely on techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which are complex and time-consuming. This article introduces a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based on a composite of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for the rapid detection of pefloxacin in milk. After testing pefloxacin (PEF) in both water and milk, the detection limits were calculated to be 6.31 µg/L for water and 82 µg/L for milk, with correlation coefficients of 0.991 and 0.998, respectively. Furthermore, the average recovery rate of pefloxacin in milk ranged from 96.25–106.17%, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.32–8.88%. This work offers a simple and rapid method for detecting pefloxacin in milk.