基于SERS探针技术的细胞识别、成像与诊疗

表面增强拉曼散射(surface-enhanced Raman scattering, SERS),是指吸附在粗糙的金属纳米结构表面的被分析物,在光照射下其拉曼光谱获得显著增强的异常表面光学现象。近年来,SERS技术已广泛地用于物质检测和生物传感等研究,在生物医学领域表现出巨大的应用潜力并取得了令人瞩目的研究成果。本文回顾了SERS探针技术在细胞识别、成像与诊疗等方面的应用及最新研究进展,重点介绍了SERS细胞探针的构建方法与原理,以及基于SERS探针的细胞检测应用策略,并讨论了SERS探针技术在细胞检测中仍有待解决的关键问题。     

Overview of Popular Techniques of Raman Spectroscopy and Their Potential in the Study of Plant Tissues

Raman spectroscopy is one of the main analytical techniques used in optical metrology. It is a vibration, marker-free technique that provides insight into the structure and composition of tissues and cells at the molecular level. Raman spectroscopy is an outstanding material identification technique. It provides spatial information of vibrations from complex biological samples which renders it a very accurate tool for the analysis of highly complex plant tissues. Raman spectra can be used as a fingerprint tool for a very wide range of compounds. Raman spectroscopy enables all the polymers that build the cell walls of plants to be tracked simultaneously; it facilitates the analysis of both the molecular composition and the molecular structure of cell walls. Due to its high sensitivity to even minute structural changes, this method is used for comparative tests. The introduction of new and improved Raman techniques by scientists as well as the constant technological development of the apparatus has resulted in an increased importance of Raman spectroscopy in the discovery and defining of tissues and the processes taking place in them.     

Minireview: Recent Advances in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Nucleic Acid Detection with Application to Pathogen Diagnosis

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a promising analytical tool in nanoscale detection because of its high sensitivity and selectivity. This review focuses on recent advances in SERS-based detection of DNA and RNA. First, nanostructure-based SERS-active substrates are introduced. Using label-free and labeled SERS, target biomolecules such DNA, RNA and microRNA have been successfully detected. Finally, applications in pathogen diagnosis are discussed. The prospects and challenges of SERS-based bioanalysis are highlighted.     

Towards single-microorganism detection using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

The identification and discrimination of microorganisms is important not only for clinical reasons but also for pharmaceutical clean room production and food-processing technology. Vibrational spectroscopy such as IR, Raman, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can provide a rapid ‘fingerprint’ on the chemical structure of molecules and is used to obtain a ‘fingerprint’ from microorganisms as well. Because of the requirement that a single bacterium cell and noble metal nanoparticles must be in close contact and the lack of a significant physical support to hold nanoparticles around the single bacterium cell, the acquisition of SERS spectra for a single bacterium using colloidal nanoparticles could be a challenging task. The feasibility of SERS for identification down to a single bacterium is investigated. A Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, is chosen as a model for the investigation. Because the adsorption of silver nanoparticles onto the bacterial cell is an exclusive way for locating nanoparticles close to the bacterium cell, the absorption characteristics of silver nanoparticles with different surface charges are investigated. It is demonstrated that the citrate-reduced colloidal silver solution generates more reproducible SERS spectra. It is found that E. coli cells aggregate upon mixing with silver colloidal solution, and this may provide an additional benefit in locating the bacterial cell under a light microscope. It is also found that a laser wavelength in the UV region could be a better choice for the study due to the shallow penetration depth. It is finally shown that it is possible to obtain SERS spectra from a single cell down to a few bacterial cells, depending on the aggregation properties of bacterial cells for identification and discrimination.     

Raman and Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering of Chlorophenols

Raman spectrum is a powerful analytical tool for determining the chemical information of compounds. In this study, we obtained analytical results of chlorophenols(CPs) molecules including 4-chlorophenol(4-CP), 2,6-dich- lorophenol(2,6-DCP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol(2,4,6-TCP) on the surface of Ag dendrites by surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) spectra. SEM images indicate that the SERS substrate of Ag dendrites is composed of a large number of polygonal nanocrystallites, which self-assembled into a 3D hierarchical structure. It was found that there were distinct differences for those three molecules from Raman and SERS spectra. This indicates that SERS could be a new tool of detection technique regarding trace amounts of CPs.     

活体小鼠耳朵的拉曼成像方法研究

利用扫描技术获取活体小鼠耳朵组织不同深度的微区拉曼光谱,选取分别归属于血糖、脂类、血红蛋白、蛋白质分子结构的物质的特征谱带1125,1300,1549和1660 cm"1进行峰面积计算,利用这些数据重建二维三维拉曼光谱图像。图像清晰显示了不同物质在活体组织中空间分布情况。实验表明,活体拉曼成像技术可以成为活体研究的新手段。     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for probing internal cellular structure and dynamics

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provides vibrational information about molecules that are located within several nanometers of the surface of a metallic nanoparticle. This review describes the various challenges and successes of applying SERS inside living cells in order to gain information about the internal structure and dynamic processes occurring in the intracellular matrix. In particular, the challenges associated with the introduction of metal nanoparticles into cells are described, as well as the complexity of interpreting SERS spectra from within complex biological environments. Strategies for understanding and improving the specificity of SERS in vivo are also presented.

Local monitoring of surface chemistry with Raman spectroscopy

The efficiency of Raman scattering from molecules in some nano-resonators can increase by many orders of magnitude. Sometimes, in Raman measurements carried out with such resonators, it is possible to record a spectrum from only a few (or even a single) molecules. In this contribution, we show that resonator-enhanced Raman scattering is very useful for analysis of the electrochemically formed carbon. Carbon material has been formed on the surface of the copper-modified silver electrode during the electrochemical reduction of CO₂. The Raman spectra measured were often from only a few carbon clusters. By the analysis of a large series of such spectra, we managed to identify large graphite-like rings and polyenes with various lengths. Some other applications of resonator-enhanced Raman scattering to local characterisation of electrode surfaces (e.g. studies of CO adsorption on gold) are also presented. Contribution to the Fall Meeting of the European Materials Research Society, Symposium D: 9th International Symposium on Electrochemical/Chemical Reactivity of Metastable Materials, Warsaw, 17th–21st September, 2007     

Label‐Free Molecular Imaging of Biological Cells and Tissues by Linear and Nonlinear Raman Spectroscopic Approaches

Raman spectroscopy is an emerging technique in bioanalysis and imaging of biomaterials owing to its unique capability of generating spectroscopic fingerprints. Imaging cells and tissues by Raman microspectroscopy represents a nondestructive and label‐free approach. All components of cells or tissues contribute to the Raman signals, giving rise to complex spectral signatures. Resonance Raman scattering and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering can be used to enhance the signals and reduce the spectral complexity. Raman‐active labels can be introduced to increase specificity and multimodality. In addition, nonlinear coherent Raman scattering methods offer higher sensitivities, which enable the rapid imaging of larger sampling areas. Finally, fiber‐based imaging techniques pave the way towards in vivo applications of Raman spectroscopy. This Review summarizes the basic principles behind medical Raman imaging and its progress since 2012.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering molecular sentinel nanoprobes for viral infection diagnostics

In this paper, we describe a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based detection approach, referred to as “molecular sentinel” (MS) plasmonic nanoprobes, to detect an RNA target related to viral infection. The MS method is essentially a label-free technique incorporating the SERS effect modulation scheme associated with silver nanoparticles and Raman dye-labeled DNA hairpin probes. Hybridization with target sequences opens the hairpin and spatially separates the Raman label from the silver surface thus reducing the SERS signal of the label. Herein, we have developed a MS nanoprobe to detect the human radical S-adenosyl methionine domain containing 2 (RSAD2) RNA target as a model system for method demonstration. The human RSAD2 gene has recently emerged as a novel host-response biomarker for diagnosis of respiratory infections. Our results showed that the RSAD2 MS nanoprobes exhibits high specificity and can detect as low as 1 nM target sequences. With the use of a portable Raman spectrometer and total RNA samples, we have also demonstrated for the first time the potential of the MS nanoprobe technology for detection of host-response RNA biomarkers for infectious disease diagnostics.     

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy signals of mixed pesticides and their identification

A rapid and sensitive method to identify and analyze mixed pesticides of tricyclazole,paraquat and flusilazole by surface-enhanced Raman scattering has been reported.Aqueous samples can be detected by SERS in low concentrations of 0.01 mg/L, 0.1 mg/L and 2.85 mg/L for individual tricyclazole,paraquat and flusilazole respectively.When mixing the three pesticides in the low concentrations,their characteristic peaks can still be identified from the SERS spectrum of the mixture.     

Towards Reliable and Quantitative Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS): From Key Parameters to Good Analytical Practice

Experimental results obtained in different laboratories world‐wide by researchers using surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can differ significantly. We, an international team of scientists with long‐standing expertise in SERS, address this issue from our perspective by presenting considerations on reliable and quantitative SERS. The central idea of this joint effort is to highlight key parameters and pitfalls that are often encountered in the literature. To that end, we provide here a series of recommendations on: a) the characterization of solid and colloidal SERS substrates by correlative electron and optical microscopy and spectroscopy, b) on the determination of the SERS enhancement factor (EF), including suitable Raman reporter/probe molecules, and finally on c) good analytical practice. We hope that both newcomers and specialists will benefit from these recommendations to increase the inter‐laboratory comparability of experimental SERS results and further establish SERS as an analytical tool.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering for perchlorate detection using cystamine-modified gold nanoparticles

Perchlorate (ClO₄⁻) has recently emerged as a widespread environmental contaminant found in groundwater and surface water, and there is a great need for rapid detection and monitoring of this contaminant. This study presents a new technique using cystamine-modified gold nanoparticles as a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of perchlorate at low concentrations. A detection limit of 5 × 10⁻⁶ M (0.5 mg/L) has been achieved using this method without sample preconcentration. This result was attributed to a strong plasmon enhancement by gold metal surfaces and the electrostatic attraction of ClO₄⁻ onto positively charged, cystamine-modified gold nanoparticles at a low pH. The methodology also was found to be reproducible, quantitative, and not susceptible to significant interference from the presence of anions such as sulfate, phosphate, nitrate and chloride at concentrations <1 mM, making it potentially suitable for rapid screening and routine analysis of perchlorate in environmental samples.     

Determination of Saxitoxin by Aptamer-Based Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Saxitoxin is one of the most harmful paralytic shellfish toxins due to its high toxicity and adverse effects on the environment and human health. Aptasensors provide simple detection procedures because they have the advantages of chemical stability, easy synthesis and modification, and high convenience in signal transformation. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an analytical technique that amplifies the analytical signals of molecules at extremely low concentrations, or even at the single molecule level, when the analyte is very close to rough metal surfaces or nanostructures. In this study, an SERS aptasensor is reported for the determination of saxitoxin for the first time. The optimized saxitoxin aptamer (M-30f) was modified on gold nanoparticles and served as the recognition element. Crystal violet was used as the Raman reporter without chemical bounding. The analytical principles of the aptasensor are that saxitoxin destabilized the conformations of the aptamer at high temperature conditions and altered the binding of crystal violet on the gold nanoparticles. In the presence of saxitoxin, the conformation of aptamer containing the G-quadruplex that selectively bound crystal violet unfolded to a large extent and hence the crystal violet molecules were released from gold nanoparticles with a reduced SERS signal. The effects of the gold nanoparticle size, the amount of DNA, aptamer density, sodium chloride concentration, and operation temperature upon the SERS determination were optimized. The resulting simple SERS aptasensor was developed with a satisfactory limit of detection (11.7?nM) and selectivity. The application for the analysis of real shellfish samples with simple procedures demonstrates that this SERS aptasensor is promising for on-site applications.     

水溶液中碳纳米管的表面增强拉曼光谱研究

合成了碳纳米管和金纳米颗粒的复合物, 测量了水溶液相中复合物的表面增强拉曼光谱, 结果表明, 碳纳米管的巯基化修饰可以提高碳纳米管与金纳米颗粒复合的效率, 随着金纳米颗粒负载量的增加, 碳纳米管的拉曼信号逐渐增强. 加入己二胺分子可以减小金纳米颗粒之间的距离使表面增强效应更显著, 碳纳米管的拉曼光谱得到进一步的增强. 还可进一步在复合体系中加入对巯基苯胺和罗丹明B等小分子拉曼探针, 利用金纳米颗粒的表面增强效应, 这种多元复合体系有望作为多通道拉曼成像探针材料.     

Improved Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering for Nanostructured Silver on Porous Silicon for Ultrasensitive Determination of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene

Label-free and low-cost surface-enhanced Raman scattering-active substrates of silver nanostructures on porous silicon have been synthesized. The morphology and spectroscopic properties were investigated as a function of concentration and immersion time. The enhancement factor of optimized silver-porous silicon substrate was estimated to be 2.18 × 10⁸ by the use of p-thiocresol as a Raman probe. The optimized substrate was used to determine 50 pg of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. These results demonstrate that the prepared silver-porous silicon substrates are promising for the ultra-sensitive determination of organic molecules.     

Live‐Cell Stimulated Raman Scattering Imaging of Alkyne‐Tagged Biomolecules

Alkynes can be metabolically incorporated into biomolecules including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and glycans. In addition to the clickable chemical reactivity, alkynes possess a unique Raman scattering within the Raman‐silent region of a cell. Coupling this spectroscopic signature with Raman microscopy yields a new imaging modality beyond fluorescence and label‐free microscopies. The bioorthogonal Raman imaging of various biomolecules tagged with an alkyne by a state‐of‐the‐art Raman imaging technique, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, is reported. This imaging method affords non‐invasiveness, high sensitivity, and molecular specificity and therefore should find broad applications in live‐cell imaging.     

表面增强拉曼散射增强机理的部分研究进展

概述了我们在表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)化学增强机理方面的一些研究工作, 介绍了分子-金属的成键作用和光诱导电荷转移对Raman谱峰强度与电位关系的影响, 基于光电场下纳米粒子光学性质的物理增强机理, 并针对SERS机理研究中尚存在的基本问题提出了建立SERS统一理论的展望.     

Cu掺杂TiO_2作为SERS基底的研究

本文采用溶胶-水热法制备了TiO2及Cu掺杂的TiO2纳米粒子作为表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)活性基底,观察到当4-巯基苯甲酸吸附在3%Cu掺杂的TiO2表面上时,其SERS信号得到了最大程度的增强.Cu离子掺杂进TiO2晶格时会使TiO2表面的缺陷浓度(表面态)得到增加,一定量的缺陷浓度对TiO2-to-Molecule的电荷转移机理起到促进作用,进一步证明了化学增强机理在SERS现象的贡献.