A Rapid Colorimetric Detection of Melamine in Raw Milk by Unmodified Gold Nanoparticles

We report a rapid, visual, facile colorimetric detection of melamine in raw milk by unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). AuNPs can be induced by melamine from dispersion to aggregation rapidly, along with the color change from red to blue (or purple). After the optimization of reaction conditions, the whole analysis only needs about 20 min including the simple pretreatment we designed. The analysis can be observed by the naked eye and simple to operate without sophisticated instruments. In the raw milk, the present limit of detection for melamine is down to similar to 70 ppb. Furthermore, we explore the interaction principle between melamine and citrate-stabilized AuNPs in this work and establish the foundation for modifying the AuNPs and optimizing the system of AuNPs-melamine in the future.