Selective and Rapid Detection of Minocycline in Milk Using a Novel Fluorescence Conjugated Polymer Probe

Minocycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic widely used in clinical and veterinary medicine and its adverse effects are as prominent as its potent efficacy. To avoid its abuse and accumulation, it is very important to detect minocycline in medical science, food industry, and aquaculture industry. Here, a conjugated polymer probe for minocycline is prepared and its optical properties and fluorescence response to minocycline is studied. The quenching efficiency is linear relevant with the amount of minocycline at the concentration range of 0–12 µM in PBS and 0–28 µM in ethanol with the limit of detection of 0.0151 µM. Moreover, the standard addition recoveries of minocycline in skim milk samples are between 92.22 and 104.43%, and the relative standard deviation values are less than 3%. These results imply that the probe has a great potential for detecting minocycline in actual samples with simplify, rapidity, and sensitivity.