Using PDMS Plasma Cavity SERS Substrate for the Detection of Aspartame

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used to simply and sensitively detect the artificial sweetener aspartame added to purified water. In this paper, a cavity formed spontaneously by silver ion droplets, and liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is used as an SERS substrate to integrate plasma nanoparticles into optical devices. Firstly, Raman spectral characteristics of aspartame powder and aspartame aqueous solution were analyzed. Secondly, the effect of aspartame content in purified water on SERS intensity was investigated by using the prepared PDMS plasma cavity to test the samples. Thirdly, the SERS calibration curve was established by using the characteristic peak intensity of aspartame, and a good linearity relationship between the concentration of aspartame added in purified water and the characteristic peak intensity of 1588(±5) cm-1 was obtained. The linear regression equation and correlation coefficient (r) were y = 11412.73874 x + 107.36722 and 0.99593, respectively. The average recovery of aspartame in purified water was 101–106%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 0.121–0.496%. The experimental results show that using this method can detect aspartame in purified water correctly, which is expected to be used in the identification and detection of sweeteners in purified water.