Table 1.

Different analytical techniques for the determination of antibiotics in food.

Analytical method	Tentative detection levels	Remarks	Ref.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)	0.11 μM	(i) Detection of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole in real milk	[8]
		(ii) Nonselective
		(iii) Low sample consumption and fast response
		(iv) Simple operation, high sensitivity, strong selectivity, less interference from water
		(v) Can be used for molecular structure analysis
		(vi) On-site determination
Capillary electrophoresis	4.1–6.3 ng/mL	(i) Detection of ciprofloxacin in chicken muscle	[9]
		(ii) Fast analysis and high precision
		(iii) Used with a mass spectrometer, a diode array detector, and a fluorescence detector
		(iv) Sensitivity and repeatability must be improved
Electrochemical techniques	0.003 μM	(i) Detection of sulfanilamide in milk	[10]
		(ii) Simple operation, high sensitivity, low cost
		(iii) Low stability
		(iv) In samples with complicated matrices, problems with repeatability may occur due to deterioration of electrodes
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry	1.46–15.5 ng/kg	(i) Detection of sulfonamides in aquaculture	[11]
		(ii) The most authoritative method in antibiotic detection
		(iii) High sensitivity and selectivity
		(iv) Requires expensive equipment
		(v) Sample preparation is time consuming
		(vi) Difficult to detect on site
Immunochromatography	0.6 ng/mL	(i) Detection of furazolidone in pork, shrimp, and eggs	[12]
		(ii) High sensitivity and specificity
		(iii) Simple operation, fast detection, and low price
		(iv) Suitable for on-site detection
		(v) Qualitative or semiquantitative detection
		(vi) False-positives may be obtained because of the interference of complicated matrices
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)	2.42–4.88 μg/kg	(i) Detection of quinolones, tetracycline, lincomycin, and streptomycin in milk	[13]
		(ii) Simple operation, fast, high sensitivity, and high specificity
		(iii) Prone to false-positives by the interference of autoantibodies and heterophile antibodies
		(iv) Poor repeatability
		(v) Greatly affected by detection time and temperature
		(vi) High sensitivity and specificity
		(vii) Simple operation, fast detection and low price
		(viii) Suitable for on-site detection
		(ix) Qualitative or semiquantitative detection
		(x) False-positives may be obtained because of the interference of complicated matrices