Detecting Triclosan in Environmental Waters Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

Triclosan (TCS), 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol is a Polychloro phenoxy phenol, an endocrine disruptor to many aquatic organisms. This compound has been found in rivers, streams, and wastewater samples around the world. Current detection methods for Triclosan are time consuming and insensitive which have inhibited the discovery of triclosan's true impact on the ecosystem. This paper explores using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) as a new method for trace Triclosan detection. First, the ideal silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) size was determined to be 20 nm. Then 20 nm Ag NPs was mixed with varying concentrations of triclosan to construct two Concentration vs Intensity least squares regression at 1056 cm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> and 1290 cm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup>, These are two Raman peaks that identify the vibrations of two bonds in triclosan. This allows us to roughly estimate the concentration of triclosan in an unknown sample. SERS was shown to be an effective method for triclosan detection, taking less than 30 seconds to yield results.