Dual Ratiometric SERS and Photoacoustic Core–Satellite Nanoprobe for Quantitatively Visualizing Hydrogen Peroxide in Inflammation and Cancer

A Photoacoustic-Fluorescent Imaging Probe for Proteolytic Gingipains Expressed by Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a keystone pathogen in periodontal disease. We herein report a dual-modal fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging probe for the detection of gingipain proteases secreted by P. gingivalis. Upon proteolytic cleavage by Arg-specific gingipain (RgpB), five-fold photoacoustic enhancement and >100-fold fluorescence activation was measured with detection limits of 1.1 nM RgpB and 5.0E4 CFU mL-1 bacteria in vitro. RgpB activity was imaged in porcine jaws with low-nanomolar sensitivity. Diagnostic efficacy was evaluated in gingival crevicular fluid samples from subjects with and without periodontal disease, wherein activation was correlated to qPCR-based detection of P. gingivalis (Pearson's r=0.71). Finally, photoacoustic imaging of RgpB-cleaved probe was achieved in murine brains ex vivo, with relevance and potential utility for disease models of general infection by P. gingivalis, motivated by the recent biological link between gingipain and Alzheimer's disease.

Widefield SERS for High-Throughput Nanoparticle Screening

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) imaging is a powerful technology with unprecedent potential for ultrasensitive chemical analysis. Point-by-point scanning and often excessively long spectral acquisition-times hamper the broad exploitation of the full analytical potential of SERS. Here, we introduce large-scale SERS particle screening (LSSPS), a multiplexed widefield screening approach to particle characterization, which is 500-1000 times faster than typical confocal Raman implementations. Beyond its higher throughput, LSSPS simultaneously quantifies both the sample's Raman and Rayleigh scattering to directly quantify the fraction of SERS-active particles which allows for an unprecedented correlation of SERS activity with particle size. .