Controllable Preparation of Plasmonic Gold Nanostars for Enhanced Photothermal and SERS Effects

Gold nanostars(Au NSs) are asymmetric anisotropic nanomaterials with sharp edge structure. As a promising branched nanomaterial, Au NS has excellent plasmonic absorption and scattering properties. In order to tune the plasmonic photothermal and surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) activity of Au NSs to obtain the desired characteristics, the effects of reagents on the local surface plasmon resonance(LSPR) bands of Au NSs were studied and the morphology and size were regulated. Nanoparticles with different sharp edges were synthesized to make their local plasmon resonance mode tunable in the visible and near-infrared region. The effects of the number and sharpness of different tips under the control of AgNO₃ on the photothermal response of Au NSs and the SERS activity and their mechanism were discussed in detail. The results show that as the length of the branch tip becomes longer and the sharpness increases, the plasmonic photothermal effect of Au NSs is strengthened, and the photothermal conversion efficiency is the highest up to 40% when the length of Au NSs is the longest. Au NSs with high SERS activity are used for the Raman detection substrate. Based on this property, the quantitative detection of the pesticide thiram is achieved.     

表面增强拉曼散射光谱研究聚苯胺纳米棒的构象转变

采用电化学沉积法制备了聚苯胺(Polyaniline,PANI)纳米棒、树枝状银和纳米颗粒银基体。并利用表面增强拉曼散射光谱技术(Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering,SERS)研究了PANI纳米棒的分子链在Ag金属表面的构象变化。实验结果表明由于Ag金属表面的等离子共振效应,PANI分子中N原子的孤对电子与Ag的自由电子产生共轭效应,使得PANI分子链上的电荷重新分布,结果 C—H面内弯曲振动频率和C—C键的伸缩频率向低波数方向移动(蓝移);拉曼散射频率增强的基团在金属表面倾向垂直于分子链的主轴,拉曼散射频率减弱的基团在金属表面倾向平行于分子链主轴。     

Interactions of DNA with graphene and sensing applications of graphene field-effect transistor devices: A review

Graphene field-effect transistors (GFET) have emerged as powerful detection platforms enabled by the advent of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) production of the unique atomically thin 2D material on a large scale. DNA aptamers, short target-specific oligonucleotides, are excellent sensor moieties for GFETs due to their strong affinity to graphene, relatively short chain-length, selectivity, and a high degree of analyte variability. However, the interaction between DNA and graphene is not fully understood, leading to questions about the structure of surface-bound DNA, including the morphology of DNA nanostructures and the nature of the electronic response seen from analyte binding. This review critically evaluates recent insights into the nature of the DNA graphene interaction and its affect on sensor viability for DNA, small molecules, and proteins with respect to previously established sensing methods. We first discuss the sorption of DNA to graphene to introduce the interactions and forces acting in DNA based GFET devices and how these forces can potentially affect the performance of increasingly popular DNA aptamers and even future DNA nanostructures as sensor substrates. Next, we discuss the novel use of GFETs to detect DNA and the underlying electronic phenomena that are typically used as benchmarks for characterizing the analyte response of these devices. Finally, we address the use of DNA aptamers to increase the selectivity of GFET sensors for small molecules and proteins and compare them with other, state of the art, detection methods.     

Optofluidic microsystem with quasi-3 dimensional gold plasmonic nanostructure arrays for online sensitive and reproducible SERS detection

Practical applications of chemical and biological detections through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) require high reproducibility, sensitivity, and efficiency, along with low-cost, straightforward fabrication. In this work, we integrated a poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) chip with quasi-3D gold plasmonic nanostructure arrays (Q3D-PNAs), which serve as SERS-active substrates, into an optofluidic microsystem for online sensitive and reproducible SERS detections. The Q3D-PNA PDMS chip was fabricated through soft lithography to ensure both precision and low-cost fabrication. The optimal dimension of the Q3D-PNA in PDMS was designed using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic simulations with a simulated enhancement factor (EF) of 1.6 × 10⁶. The real-time monitoring capability of the SERS-based optofluidic microsystem was investigated by kinetic on/off experiments through alternatively flowing Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and ethanol in the microfluidic channel. A switch-off time of ∼2 min at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min⁻¹ was demonstrated. When applied to the detection of low concentration malathion, the SERS-based optofluidic microsystem with Q3D-PNAs showed high reproducibility, significantly improved efficiency and higher detection sensitivity via increasing the flow rate. The optofluidic microsystem presented in this paper offers a simple and low-cost approach for online, label-free chemical and biological analysis and sensing with high sensitivity, reproducibility, efficiency, and molecular specificity.     

基于表面增强拉曼光谱技术的心肌生物标志物检测

心血管疾病(CVD)是全球最主要的死亡原因,急性心肌梗死(AMI)是心血管疾病致死的主要病因,安全快速地诊断AMI对于降低患者的死亡率至关重要。因常用的检测方法如心电图(ECG)缺乏足够的敏感性,寻找并针对AMI生物标志物开展高灵敏检测已成为早期检测AMI重要手段。心肌肌钙蛋白I(cTnI)、肌酸激酶同工酶(CK-MB)和肌红蛋白(Myo)是目前公认的检测AMI的重要心肌生物标志物。在过去的几十年里,许多生物传感器被开发出来用于检测心肌生物标志物,其中基于表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)的心肌生物标志物检测技术迅速发展,并表现出独特的技术优势和广阔的应用前景。本文首先介绍了多种心肌生物标志物及其与AMI的关联,在此基础上概述主要的心肌生物标志物检测方法的原理、优势及局限性,重点介绍近年来新兴的SERS技术及其在心肌生物标志物传感方面的最新研究进展,并对该技术在AMI诊断方面的应用前景以及有待突破的瓶颈进行了讨论和展望。     

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) for characterization SARS-CoV-2

We used SERS with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as the active substrate to develop a, simple, quick, and accurate method for the detection and characterization SARS-CoV-2 without the need for RNA isolation and purification. Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 was used. The SERS signals were more than 10⁵ times enhanced than the normal Raman (NR) spectra. The SERS spectra of SARS-CoV-2 fingerprint revealed pronounced intensity signals of nucleic acids; aromatic amino acid side chains: 1007 cm^?1 (Phe marker), 1095 cm^?1 (CN and PO₂^? markers), 1580 cm^?1 (Tyr, Trp markers). Vibrations of the protein main chain: 1144 cm^?1 (CN and NH₂ markers), 1221 cm^?1 (CN and NH markers), 1270 cm^?1 (NH₂ marker), 1453 cm^?1 (CHCH₂ marker). All of these biomolecules could be adsorbed on the AgNPs surface's dense hot patches. The intensity of the SERS band varied with the concentration of SARS-CoV-2, with a virus detection limit of less than 10³ vp/mL and RSDs of 20 %.     

Development of bioorthogonal SERS imaging probe in biological and biomedical applications

Living-cell imaging demands high specificity,sensitivity,and minimal background interference to the targets of interest.However,developing a desirable imaging probe that can possess all the above features is still challenging.The bioorthogonal surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) imaging has been recently emerged through utilizing Raman reporters with characteristic peaks in Raman-silent region of cells(1800-2800 cm~(-1)),which opens a revolutionary avenue for living-cell imaging with multiplexing capability.In this review,we focus on the recent advances in the technology development and the biological and biomedical applications of the living-cell bioorthogonal SERS imaging technique.After introduction of fundamental principles for bioorthogonal tag or label,we present applications for visualization of various intracellular components and environment including proteins,nucleic acids,lipids,pH and hypoxia,even for cancer diagnosis in tissue samples.Then,various bioorthogonal SERS imaging-guided thera py strategies have been discussed such as photothera py and surge ry.In conclusion,this strategy has great potential to be a flexible and robust tool for visualization detection and diseases diagnosis.     

Online Flowing Colloidosomes for Sequential Multi‐analyte High‐Throughput SERS Analysis

3D plasmonic colloidosomes are superior SERS sensors owing to their high sensitivity and excellent tolerance to laser misalignment. Herein, we incorporate plasmonic colloidosomes in a microfluidic channel for online SERS detection. Our method resolves the poor signal reproducibility and inter‐sample contamination in the existing online SERS platforms. Our flow system offers rapid and continuous online detection of 20 samples in less than 5 min with excellent signal reproducibility. The isolated colloidosomes prevent cross‐sample and channel contamination, allowing accurate quantification of samples over a concentration range of five orders of magnitude. Our system demonstrates high‐resolution multiplex detection with fully preserved signal and Raman features of individual analytes in a mixture. High‐throughput multi‐assay analysis is performed, which highlights that our system is capable of rapid identification and quantification of a sequence of samples containing various analytes and concentrations.     

PDMS-Au复合基底上多环芳烃分子的表面增强拉曼光谱

利用聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)对有机物的富集功能,通过在金纳米粒子单层膜(Au MLF)表面旋涂薄层PDMS膜制备PDMS-Au MLF复合表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)基底.研究了SERS增强性能与旋涂液浓度及稀释溶剂间的关系,考察了复合基底增强活性的均匀性.研究发现,采用叔丁醇为稀释溶剂,浓度为2%(质量分数)的旋涂液时所得复合基底表面多环芳烃(PAHs)的SERS信号强度最高,且此基底SERS信号强度偏差小于10%.分别以PDMS-Au MLF复合材料和Au MLF作为基底,对比研究了对萘、蒽、菲和芘4种多环芳烃的SERS检测能力.结果表明,PDMS-Au MLF复合基底对以上4种有机物的检出限分别为10~(-6),10~(-7),10~(-8)及10~(-7)mol/L,相比于单一Au MLF基底,其检测限至少降低了1个数量级,这主要源自于PDMS对PAHs的富集作用,且此类复合基底可用于多种多环芳烃混合物的特征识别.     

Simple and rapid surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy assay for safranine T and its application in highly sensitive determination of mercury (Ⅱ)

A simple and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for the detection of safranine T (ST) and Hg²⁺ using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as substrate was developed. ST can absorb on the surface of AgNPs through electrostatic interaction, the electromagnetic effect combined with chemical adsorption effect give a notable Raman enhancement for ST. The presence of Hg²⁺ well decreased the absorbed ST molecules on AgNPs, leading to a significant decrease of SERS signals thus enabling to detect Hg²⁺. The determination conditions for SERS, including the amount of AgNPs, the concentration of NaCl, the concentration of HCl, the concentration of ST and the reaction time, were optimised. Under the optimised experimental conditions, good linear responses were obtained for ST and Hg²⁺ in the concentration ranges of 0.01–4.0 μmol L^?1 (3.5–1403.4 ng mL^?1) and 0.01–2.0 μmol L^?1 (2.0–401.2 ng mL^?1), the limit of detection were 3.0 nmol L^?1 (1.1 ng mL^?1) and 2.0 nmol L^?1 (0.4 ng mL^?1), respectively. The present method was subsequently applied to the determination of ST in tomato sauces and Hg²⁺ in environmental waters, the recoveries of ST and Hg²⁺ in spiked samples are 95.5–107.8% and 91.4–110.8 %, respectively.