Determination of potassium ferrocyanide in table salt and salted food using a water-soluble fluorescent silicon quantum dots

Min Na; Yonglei Chen; Yangxia Han; Sudai Ma; Juanjuan Liu; Xingguo Chen

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.02.111

Determination of potassium ferrocyanide in table salt and salted food using a water-soluble fluorescent silicon quantum dots

Food Chem. 2019 Aug 1:288:248-255. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.02.111. Epub 2019 Mar 6.

Authors

Min Na¹, Yonglei Chen², Yangxia Han¹, Sudai Ma¹, Juanjuan Liu¹, Xingguo Chen³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and Department of Chemistry, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and Department of Chemistry, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: chyl@lzu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and Department of Chemistry, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metal Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: chenxg@lzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 30902289
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.02.111

Abstract

The addition of potassium ferrocyanide (K₄[Fe(CN)₆]) in table salt as anti-caking agent has a crucial role in preventing the formation of lumps. However, the excess of K₄[Fe(CN)₆] and its decomposers are harmful to both human health and environment. To date, there are still lack of suitable methods for simple and rapid analysis of K₄[Fe(CN)₆] in table salt and salted food. Herein, a novel fluorescent Si QDs probe for sensitive, selective and rapid detection of K₄[Fe(CN)₆] was synthesized by facile one-step strategy. Notably, the fluorescence of Si QDs could be remarkably quenched by K₄[Fe(CN)₆] via electrostatic interaction. Based on this phenomenon, a new method of determination of K₄[Fe(CN)₆] was established. A wide linear range was obtained from 0.05 to 8.0 µg/mL with a detection limit of 30 ng/mL. The established fluorescent new method was suitable for detecting K₄[Fe(CN)₆] in table salt and salted food samples with satisfactory results.

Keywords: Fluorescence; Potassium ferrocyanide; Silicon quantum dots; Table salt and salted food.

MeSH terms

Ferrocyanides / analysis*
Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
Food Analysis
Humans
Limit of Detection
Quantum Dots / chemistry*
Silicon / chemistry*
Sodium Chloride, Dietary / analysis*
Spectrometry, Fluorescence*
Water / chemistry

Substances

Ferrocyanides
Fluorescent Dyes
Sodium Chloride, Dietary
Water
potassium ferrocyanide
Silicon