In
this study, fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (FMIPs),
which were for the selective recognition and fluorescence detection
of λ-cyhalothrin (LC), were synthesized via fluorescein 5(6)-isothiocyanate
(FITC) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS)/SiO<sub>2</sub> particles.
The SiO<sub>2</sub>@FITC-APTS@MIPs were characterized by Fourier transform
infrared (FT-IR), UV–vis spectrophotometer (UV–vis),
fluorescence spectrophotometer, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA),
confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The as-synthesized
SiO<sub>2</sub>@FITC-APTS@MIPs with an imprinted polymer film (thickness
was about 100 nm) was demonstrated to be spherically shaped and had
good monodispersity, high fluorescence intensity, and good selective
recognition. Using fluorescence quenching as the detection tool, the
largest fluorescence quenching efficiency (<i>F</i><sub>0</sub>/<i>F</i> – 1) of SiO<sub>2</sub>@FITC-APTS@MIPs
is close to 2.5 when the concentration of the LC is 1.0 μM L<sup>–1</sup>. In addition, a linear relationship (<i>F</i><sub>0</sub>/<i>F</i> – 1= 0.0162<i>C</i> + 0.0272) could be obtained covering a wide concentration range
of 0–60 nM L<sup>–1</sup> with a correlation coefficient
of 0.9968 described by the Stern–Volmer equation. Moreover,
the limit of detection (LOD) of the SiO<sub>2</sub>@FITC-APTS@MIPs
was 9.17 nM L<sup>–1</sup>. The experiment results of practical
detection revealed that the SiO<sub>2</sub>@FITC-APTS@MIPs as an attractive
recognition element was satisfactory for the determination of LC in
Chinese spirits. Therefore, this study demonstrated the potential
of SiO<sub>2</sub>@FITC-APTS@MIPs for the recognition and detection
of LC in food