The auxiliary determination of the binding site of berberine binding to human serum albumin by surface-enhanced Raman scattering

We report on the joint application of fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and Raman spectroscopy to the study of berberine with human serum albumin (HSA). We propose the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique to improve the understanding of the quenching interaction caused by berberine which could be applied in recognition process of fluorescent drugs with large biomolecules. The fluorescence and UV-Vis spectroscopic results show that the fluorescence intensity of HSA is significantly decreased in the presence of berberine, and the quenching mechanism is static. The SERS technique demonstrates clear advantages over direct measurements in physiological conditions. By means of this method, we are able to deduce important information concerning the binding property of berberine when interacting with HSA. We show the nitrogen atom is free but the dioxolane is involved in the spontaneously electrostatic inducement and subsequently hydrophobic binding.     

荧光光谱结合表面增强拉曼光谱法研究紫檀芪与人血清白蛋白相互作用

在模拟人体生理条件下,应用荧光光谱和表面增强拉曼光谱法研究了紫檀芪(PTE)与人血清白蛋白(HSA)之间相互作用机制.结果表明,HSA的荧光能被PTE静态猝灭,并伴随有非辐射能量转移作用,两者形成了1:1复合物,结合距离r=1.495 nm,结合常数KA=1.12×104(298 K)、4.07×104(304 K)和2.45×105 L/mol(310 K).表面增强拉曼光谱研究揭示,PTE分子通过甲氧基与HSA进行结合;热力学数据表明,二者间的作用主要为疏水作用;标记竞争实验指出PTE优先结合HSA的位点Ⅲ.三维荧光光谱、同步荧光光谱和表面增强拉曼光谱结果显示,与PTE作用后,HSA构象发生变化,导致色氨酸残基周围环境疏水性降低,但对PTE分子构象影响不大.     

Roughened silver electrodes for use in metal-enhanced fluorescence

Roughened silver electrodes are widely used for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). We tested roughened silver electrodes for metal-enhanced fluorescence. Constant current between two silver electrodes in pure water resulted in the growth of fractal-like structures on the cathode. This electrode was coated with a monolayer of human serum albumin (HSA) protein that had been labeled with a fluorescent dye, indocyanine green (ICG). The fluorescence intensity of ICG-HSA on the roughened electrode increased by approximately 50-fold relative to the unroughened electrode, which was essentially non-fluorescent and increased typically two-fold as compared to the silver anode. No fractal-like structures were observed on the anode. Lifetime measurements showed that at least part of the increased intensity was due to an increased radiative decay rate of ICG. In our opinion, the use of in situ generated roughened silver electrodes will find multifarious applications in analytical chemistry, such as in fluorescence based assays, in an analogous manner to the now widespread use of SERS. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of roughened silver electrodes for metal-enhanced fluorescence.     

表面增强拉曼光谱研究小檗碱与DNA的相互作用

用表面增强拉曼光谱研究了小檗碱（BER）与小牛胸腺DNA（ct DNA)的相互作用,并对重要谱峰进行了归属。在Ag胶体系中,小檗碱分子的拉曼信号增强显著,表明小檗碱阳离子键合到银胶粒子的表面。加入ct NA之后,小檗碱分子的大部分SERS带的强度进一步增加,而仅有少数几个带的信号强度趋于消失,可能是小檗碱分子的异喹啉部分键合到DNA的小沟槽,小檗碱与DNA的相互作用模式主要是通过静电力及疏水相互作用,吸收光谱表明,Ag胶体系的存在并未改变小檗碱分子与DNA的相互作用模式。     

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.     

Supplementary Observations on the Chemistry of the Alkaloids of Berberine Series and Related Compounds. III. Fluorescence Spectra of the Alkaloids of Berberine Series and Their Related Compounds

The absorption maxima of the fluorescence spectra of the berberine series alkaloids are broadly distributed between 360 and 560 mμ. The fluorescence spectra of most substances of this series are very monotonous one having a single peak, the spectra of tetrahydrocoptisine and tetrahydroepiberberine are quite exceptional and consist of two wavy bands. The introduction of the auxochrome group into the molecule of “proto” compounds causes the decreasing of the fluorescence intensity and this effect is strongest in case of transition from protoberberine to berberine. That, tetrahydropalmatine does not show the distinct fluorescence spectrum band is the only incomprehensible fact.     

气液界面磷脂单分子膜的表面增强拉曼光谱

采用纳米银胶作为成膜亚相, 原位获得了十八胺单分子膜、十八胺/卵磷脂复合膜的表面增强拉曼信号.研究表明,增强主要来源于亚相中的银粒子与成膜分子之间较强的作用.通过在磷脂膜内添加十八胺分子辅助增强而获取了卵磷脂的分子振动信息.     

Role of O2 in inducing intensive fluctuations of surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectra

Confocal Raman microscopic measurements were performed on silver electrodes covered with hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H). When short accumulation time was used, the subsequently measured surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra exhibited fluctuations. As previously reported for other systems, the intensity of fluctuations of SERS spectra significantly decreases if O2 was removed from the ambient medium. In this contribution we show that intensive SERS fluctuations can be also observed for a-C:H/Ag samples immersed in the deoxygenated electrolyte after applying a negative potential pulse to the silver electrode. It means that the O2-mediated Burstein mechanism of SERS fluctuations, which has been previously proposed to explain the SERS O2 effect, is not adequate for these results. We suggest that oxygen chemisorbed on the silver surface decreases the average strength of the interaction between a-C:H clusters and the metal surface (and hence the speed of movement of a-C:H clusters across the metal surface) and that the SERS O2 effect should be rather explained using the "classical" model of SERS fluctuations, in which fluctuations are interpreted as a result of the thermally activated diffusion of carbon segments in and out of the SERS "hot spots". A numerical algorithm for modeling of the fluctuations of SERS intensity has been proposed, and some example simulations of SERS fluctuations have been carried out. For the first time, strongly fluctuating bands due to the stretching vibrations of significantly weakened C-H bonds have been identified.     

Surface-enhanced fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering of push–pull molecules: sulfur-functionalized 4-amino-7-nitrobenzofurazan adsorbed on Ag and Au nanostructured substrates

We investigated the chemisorption of self-assembled monolayers of sulfur-functionalized 4-amino-7-nitrobenzofurazan on gold and silver nanoisland films (NIFs) by means of surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The ligand is a push–pull molecule, where an intramolecular charge transfer occurs between an electron-donor and an electron-acceptor group, thus exhibiting nonlinear optical properties that are related to both SERS and SEF effects. The presence of different heteroatoms in the molecule ensures the possibility of chemical interaction with both silver and gold substrates. The SERS spectra suggest that furazan is bound to silver via lone pairs of the nitrogen atoms, whereas the ligand is linked to gold via a sulfur atom. Silver NIFs provide more efficient enhancement of both fluorescence and Raman scattering in comparison with gold NIFs. The present SEF and SERS investigation could provide useful information for foreseeing changes in the nonlinear responses of this push–pull molecule.     

胞嘧啶吸附在粗糙金电极上的表面增强拉曼光谱

应用电化学伏安法和表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)研究在-1.0 V~0 V电位区间内胞嘧啶于粗糙金电极表面的吸附行为.结果表明,在本实验的电位区间,胞嘧啶是以其N3位垂直吸附在粗糙金电极表面的.在负电位区间环呼吸振动模的强度出现极大值,与其它振动模强度相比,作者认为电磁场的增强和电荷转移均使该谱峰的拉曼信号增强.胞嘧啶的环呼吸振动频率随着电位负移而红移,这意味着它与金电极的成键作用减弱.同时也表明SERS谱可用于研究生物分子在金属电极表面的吸附行为.     

SERS in PAH-Os and gold nanoparticle self-assembled multilayers

We present a detailed structural and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) study of poly(allylamine) modified with Os(byp)2ClPyCHO (PAH-Os) and gold nanoparticles self-assembled multilayers [PAH-Os+(Au-nanoparticlesPAH-Os)n, n=1 and 5]. Atomic force microscopy and variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements indicate that the first nanoparticle layer grows homogenously by partially covering the substrate without clustering. Analyzing the sample thickness and roughness we infer that the growth process advances thereafter by filling with nanoparticles the interstitial spaces between the previously adsorbed nanoparticles. After five immersion steps the multilayers reach a more compact structure. The interaction between plasmons of near-gold nanoparticles provides a new optical absorption around 650 nm which, in addition, allows a more effective SERS process in that spectral region than at the single-plasmon resonance (approximately 530 nm). We compare the electronic resonance Raman and SERS amplification mechanisms in these self-assembled multilayers analyzing Raman resonance scans and Raman intensity micromaps. As a function of nanoparticle coverage we observe large changes in the Raman intensity scans, with maxima that shift from the electronic transitions, to the plasmon resonance, and finally to the coupled-plasmon absorption. The Raman micromaps, on the other hand, evidence huge intensity inhomogeneities which we relate to "hot spots." Numerical discrete dipole approximation calculations including the interaction between gold nanoparticles are presented, providing a qualitative model for the coupled-plasmon absorption and redshifted Raman hot spots in these samples.     

Time fluctuations and imaging in the SERS spectra of fungal hypha grown on nanostructured substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is an emerging technique in biomolecular analysis that can have a tremendous impact in the life sciences. We report on the SERS imaging of fungal hyphae grown on nanostructured SERS active substrates engineered using semiconductor technologies. Time fluctuations in the intensity and band position in the SERS spectra measured on the same sample position with 1 s integration time have been observed indicating that the SERS signal arises from a limited number of molecules and that possibly single components are being detected.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of single-walled carbon nanotubes on silver-coated and gold-coated filter paper

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on metal-coated filter paper are reported for the first time. Experimental results show that the metal-coated filter paper is very effective and active. The SERS spectrum not only shows that all Raman bands of SWCNTs in normal Raman scattering have been generally enhanced, but also shows many new bands, which characterize the structure of SWCNTs and the interaction between SWCNTs and silver/gold nanoparticles, arising from symmetry lowering and selection rule relaxing of SWCNTs induced by the silver/gold surface. In our case, it is difficult to separate the contributions of the electromagnetic and chemical mechanisms to the great enhancement of the Raman signal. The analysis shows that the SERS spectra of SWCNTs on the metal-coated filter paper provide convenience for probing the sample molecules with fine structures related to defects of SWCNTs, the diameter of SWCNTs, and the SERS mechanism of SWCNTs deposited on metal-coated filter paper. Moreover, this can be used as a probe technique for monitoring the synthesis quality of SWCNTs with significant higher sensitivity than other methods, which has promise of being a new technique for monitoring synthesis quality of SWCNTs.     

Raman reporter-coated gold nanorods and their applications in multimodal optical imaging of cancer cells

We report the preparation of a kind of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags and explore their applications in multifunctional optical imaging of cancer cells. The proposed nanoparticles (SERS tags) are prepared by connecting dye molecules directly onto the surfaces of gold nanorods through Au–S or Au–N interactions. The dye molecules are used as Raman reporters, while gold nanorods are used as enhanced materials due to their localized surface plasmon resonance effect. Multilayered polymers are further coated onto the surfaces of the nanoparticles to reach better stability and biocompatibility. Gold nanorods with different aspect ratios and different dye molecules conjugated are compared in order to achieve the diversity of SERS tags and find out the optimized condition of SERS tags with the highest signal intensity. Our experiments show that the resulting nanoparticles, which are uptaken by cancer cells, can provide not only dark field cells images but also multiplexing SERS images.     

Surface-enhanced raman spectra of dyes and organic acids in silver solutions: chloride ion effect

We have recorded surface-enhanced Raman (SER) spectra of two different classes of compounds, cationic dyes and organic acids, and studied their chloride ion effects on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activities of the silver solution. For the positive charge dyes, rhodamine 6G (R6G) and 1,1'-dimethyl-2,2'-cyanine iodide (DECI), no SERS could be observed without the addition of chloride ions because of lack of the electrostatic interaction between the dye species and the silver particles in the silver solution. The chloride ions served to enlarge silver particles and to contribute the existence of the surface active sites, making the silver solution SERS active to the dye samples. Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) intensity of the dye molecules increased with the chloride ion concentration. After reaching a maximum intensity, a Cl- quenching effect on the intensity took place. For the organic acids, benzoic acid and p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), SERS could be observed without the coexistence of chloride ions. The intensity of the Raman scattering did not vary significantly in the presence of small amount of chloride ion. At high Cl- concentration, quenching SERS intensity began to take effect.     

抗癌金属络合物与脱氧核糖核酸作用的谱学研究比较

利用紫外可见光谱、荧光光谱、表面增强拉曼光谱研究了抗癌金属络合物与ＤＮＡ的相互作用,首次提出将荧光光谱与表面增强拉曼光谱结合作了化合物是否具有抗癌活性筛选法的可能性。     

Detection of SERS active labelled DNA based on surface affinity to silver nanoparticles

Developments in specific DNA detection assays have been shown to be increasingly beneficial for molecular diagnostics and biological research. Many approaches use optical spectroscopy as an assay detection method and, owing to the sensitivity and molecular specificity offered, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has become a competitively exploited technique. This study utilises SERS to demonstrate differences in affinity of dye labelled DNA through differences in electrostatic interactions with silver nanoparticles. Results show clear differences in the SERS intensity obtained from single stranded DNA, double stranded DNA and a free dye label and demonstrate surface attraction is driven through electrostatic charges on the nucleotides and not the SERS dye. It has been further demonstrated that, through optimisation of experimental conditions and careful consideration of sequence composition, a DNA detection method with increased sample discrimination at lower DNA concentrations can be achieved.     

Surface enhanced fluorescence and Raman imaging of Langmuir-Blodgett azopolymer films

The spectroscopic properties and surface-enhanced spectra of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of methacrylic homopolymer (HPDR13) are presented. It is shown that LB film displays strong fluorescence attributed to the spatial restrictions imposed by its structure. The emission is observed in conjunction with photoisomerization, a process clearly demonstrated by the formation of surface-relief gratings in the LB film [C.R. Mendon?a et al., Macromolecules 32 (1999) 1493]. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) and surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) were observed for LB films of HPDR13 deposited onto silver island films. SERS measurements were also carried out on a sample fabricated with one monolayer LB film deposited onto silver islands followed by one overlayer of silver (LB sandwiched between two layers of silver islands). The polymer interacts very weakly with the metal surface (physisorption), and the enhancement effect is determined by the local electric field enhancement. The strong SERS and SERRS signals were suitable for micro-Raman imaging. Line, area mapping and global images of the LB monolayer on silver island are reported. The transfer ratio in the fabrication of the LB suggests a homogeneous coating of the silver islands, thereby the chemical images show the variation of the SERS intensity due to surface enhancement.     

Application of SERS and SEF Spectroscopy for Detection of Water-Soluble Fullerene–Chlorin Dyads and Chlorin e6

Free fluorescence spectra in solution and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface enhanced fluorescence (SEF) spectra of chlorin e6 and water-soluble covalent fullerene–chlorin dyads have been studied. It has been demonstrated that chlorin e6 and covalent fullerene–chlorin dyads have similar characteristic SERS spectra. The fullerene–chlorin dyads show a pronounced SEF signal, while native chlorin e6 has no fluorescence on surface, which is consistent with the theory predicting an inverse dependence of the SEF intensity on the free fluorescence quantum yield. The concentration dependence of the SEF intensity is linear for the dyads in the range 0.1–2.0 μmol/L. These effects allow one to determine, with high sensitivity, the content of fullerene–chlorin dyads with a low quantum yield of free fluorescence in solutions, which opens wide opportunities for study of biological properties of fullerene–chlorin dyads and their applications in medicine.