Development of highly reproducible nanogap SERS substrates: Comparative performance analysis and its application for glucose sensing

SERS Performance Factor: A Convenient Parameter for the Enhancement Evaluation of SERS Substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), with molecular fingerprint information and single-molecule sensitivity, has been widely used for qualitative and quantitative analysis in various fields. Plenty of nanostructured plasmonic materials have been fabricated to achieve high SERS activity. Currently, great difficulty lies in evaluating the SERS performance among substrates, making it difficult to standardize. Addressing this problem, this work proposed the SERS performance factor (S P F = Δ I S E R S Δ C S E R S / Δ I R a m a n Δ C R a m a n ) as a practically operational parameter to evaluate the sensitivity of SERS substrates. Experimentally, SPF can be obtained by taking the ratio of the slopes (i.e., the sensitivity) for concentration-dependent SERS and normal Raman measurements in the linear range of the intensity response under identical experimental conditions. Theoretically, SPF quantitatively describes the overall contribution to the SERS performance, (i.e., the electromagnetic (EM) enhancement of the SERS substrate and the interfacial interaction between the probe and substrate). The use of SPF as the criterion for evaluating the SERS performance was validated on Au nanoparticles in colloidal and solid states, where the tendency of SPF is consistent with that of the sensitivity of the probe molecules. Derived from the typically used surface enhancement factor EF in which accurate parameters are hardly achievable and different from concentration-dependent analytical enhancement factor AEF, SPF distinguishes itself with a simpler calculation and thereby offers a convenient and reliable protocol for the evaluation of the performance of different SERS substrates, which is very important to the practical application of SERS.

Development of a 3D Hydrogel SERS Chip for Noninvasive, Real-Time pH and Glucose Monitoring in Sweat

Traditional diagnostic methods, such as blood tests, are invasive and time-consuming, while sweat biomarkers offer a rapid physiological assessment. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has garnered significant attention in sweat analysis because of its high sensitivity, label-free nature, and nondestructive properties. However, challenges related to substrate reproducibility and interference from the biological matrix persist with SERS. This study developed a novel ratio-based 3D hydrogel SERS chip, providing a noninvasive solution for real-time monitoring of pH and glucose levels in sweat. Encapsulating the probe molecule (4-MBN) in nanoscale gaps to form gold nanoflower-like nanotags with internal standards and integrating them into an agarose hydrogel to create a 3D flexible SERS substrate significantly enhances the reproducibility and stability of sweat analysis. Gap-Au nanopetals modified with probe molecules are uniformly dispersed throughout the porous hydrogel structure, facilitating the effective detection of the pH and glucose in sweat. The 3D hydrogel SERS chip demonstrates a strong linear relationship in pH and glucose detection, with a pH response range of 5.5-8.0 and a glucose detection range of 0.01-5 mM, with R2 values of 0.9973 and 0.9923, respectively. In actual sweat samples, the maximum error in pH detection accuracy is only 1.13%, with a lower glucose detection limit of 0.25 mM. This study suggests that the ratio-based 3D hydrogel SERS chip provides convenient, reliable, and rapid detection capabilities with substantial application potential for analyzing body fluid pH and glucose.

Direct Writing of SERS Substrates Using Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Achieving a high-density, repeatable, and uniform distribution of "hotspots" across the entire surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate is a current challenge in facilitating the efficient preparation of large-area SERS substrates. In this study, we aim to produce homogeneous surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates based on the strong interaction between femtosecond laser pulses and a thin film of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The SERS substrate we obtained consists of irregularly shaped and sharp-edged gold nanoparticle aggregates with specially extruding features; meanwhile, a large number of three-dimensional AuNP stacks are produced. The advantages of such configurations lie in the production of a high density of hotspots, which can significantly improve the SERS performance. When the laser fluence is 5.6 mJ/cm2, the substrate exhibits the best SERS enhancement effect, and a strong SERS signal can still be observed when testing the concentration of R6G at 10-8 mol/L. The enhancement factor of such SERS substrates prepared using femtosecond laser direct writing is increased by 3 orders of magnitude compared to the conventional furnace annealing process. Furthermore, the relative standard deviation for the intensities of the SERS signals was measured to be 5.1% over an area of 50 × 50 μm2, indicating a highly homogeneous SERS performance and excellent potential for practical applications.

Dual-Probe SERS Nanosensor: A Promising Approach for Sensitive and Ratiometric Detection of Glucose in Clinical Settings

Diabetes is a major global health concern, with millions of annual deaths. Monitoring glucose levels is vital for clinical management, and urine samples offer a noninvasive alternative to blood samples. Optical techniques for urine glucose sensing have gained notable traction due to their cost-effectiveness and portability. Among these methods, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has attracted considerable attention thanks to its remarkable sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities. However, challenges remain in achieving reliable quantification through SERS. In this study, an alternative approach is proposed to enhance quantification involving the use of dual probes. Each probe is encoded with unique SERS signatures strategically positioned in the biologically silent region. One probe indicates the glucose presence, while the other acts as an internal reference for calibration. This setup enables ratiometric analysis of the SERS signal, directly correlating it with the glucose concentration. The fabrication of the sensor relies on the prefunctionalization of Fe sheets using an aryl diazonium salt bearing a -C≡CH group (internal reference), followed by the immobilization of Ag nanoparticles modified with an aryl diazonium salt bearing a -B(OH)2 group (for glucose capture). A secondary probe bearing a -B(OH)2 group on one side and a -C≡N group on the other side enables the ratiometric analysis by forming a sandwich-like structure in the presence of glucose (glucose indicator). Validation studies in aqueous solutions and artificial urine demonstrated the high spectral stability and the potential of this dual-probe nanosensor for sensitive glucose monitoring in clinical settings.

Tunable Tamm plasmon cavity as a scalable biosensing platform for surface enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy

Surface enhanced Resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) is a powerful technique for enhancing Raman spectra by matching the laser excitation wavelength with the plasmonic resonance and the absorption peak of biomolecules. Here, we propose a tunable Tamm plasmon polariton (TPP) cavity based on a metal on distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) as a scalable sensing platform for SERRS. We develop a gold film-coated ultralow-loss phase change material (Sb2S3) based DBR, which exhibits continuously tunable TPP resonances in the optical wavelengths. We demonstrate SERRS by matching the TPP resonance with the absorption peak of the chromophore molecule at 785 nm wavelength. We use this platform to detect cardiac Troponin I protein (cTnI), a biomarker for early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, achieving a detection limit of 380 fM. This scalable substrate shows great promise as a next-generation tunable biosensing platform for detecting disease biomarkers in body fluids for routine real-time clinical diagnosis.

Self-Functionalized Superlattice Nanosensor Enables Glioblastoma Diagnosis Using Liquid Biopsy

Glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive and lethal brain cancer, is detected only in the advanced stage, resulting in a median survival rate of 15 months. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish GBM diagnosis tools to identify the tumor accurately. The clinical relevance of the current liquid biopsy techniques for GBM diagnosis remains mostly undetermined, owing to the challenges posed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that restricts biomarkers entering the circulation, resulting in the unavailability of clinically validated circulating GBM markers. GBM-specific liquid biopsy for diagnosis and prognosis of GBM has not yet been developed. Here, we introduce extracellular vesicles of GBM cancer stem cells (GBM CSC-EVs) as a previously unattempted, stand-alone GBM diagnosis modality. As GBM CSCs are fundamental building blocks of tumor initiation and recurrence, it is desirable to investigate these reliable signals of malignancy in circulation for accurate GBM diagnosis. So far, there are no clinically validated circulating biomarkers available for GBM. Therefore, a marker-free approach was essential since conventional liquid biopsy relying on isolation methodology was not viable. Additionally, a mechanism capable of trace-level detection was crucial to detecting the rare GBM CSC-EVs from the complex environment in circulation. To break these barriers, we applied an ultrasensitive superlattice sensor, self-functionalized for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), to obtain holistic molecular profiling of GBM CSC-EVs with a marker-free approach. The superlattice sensor exhibited substantial SERS enhancement and ultralow limit of detection (LOD of attomolar 10-18 M concentration) essential for trace-level detection of invisible GBM CSC-EVs directly from patient serum (without isolation). We detected as low as 5 EVs in 5 μL of solution, achieving the lowest LOD compared to existing SERS-based studies. We have experimentally demonstrated the crucial role of the signals of GBM CSC-EVs in the precise detection of glioblastoma. This was evident from the unique molecular profiles of GBM CSC-EVs demonstrating significant variation compared to noncancer EVs and EVs of GBM cancer cells, thus adding more clarity to the current understanding of GBM CSC-EVs. Preliminary validation of our approach was undertaken with a small amount of peripheral blood (5 μL) derived from GBM patients with 100% sensitivity and 97% specificity. Identification of the signals of GBM CSC-EV in clinical sera specimens demonstrated that our technology could be used for accurate GBM detection. Our technology has the potential to improve GBM liquid biopsy, including real-time surveillance of GBM evolution in patients upon clinical validation. This demonstration of liquid biopsy with GBM CSC-EV provides an opportunity to introduce a paradigm potentially impacting the current landscape of GBM diagnosis.

Strain versus Tunable Terahertz Nanogap Width: A Simple Formula and a Trench below

A flexible zerogap metallic structure is periodically formed, healing metal cracks on a flexible substrate. Zerogap is continuously tunable from nearly zero to one hundred nanometers by applying compressive strains on the flexible substrate. However, there have been few studies on how the gap width is related to the strain and periodicity, nor the mechanism of tunability itself. Here, based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, we found that 200 nm-deep nano-trenches are periodically generated on the polymer substrate below the zerogap owing to the strain singularities extant between the first and the second metallic deposition layers. Terahertz and visible transmission properties are consistent with this picture whereby the outer-bending polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate controls the gap size linearly with the inverse of the radius of the curvature.

Versatile flexible SERS substrate for in situ detection of contaminants in water and fruits based on Ag NPs decorated wrinkled PDMS film

Flexible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate has attracted great attention due to its convenient sampling and on-site monitoring capability. However, it is still challenging to fabricate a versatile flexible SERS substrate, which can be used for in situ detection of analytes either in water or on irregular solid surfaces. Here, we report a flexible and transparent SERS substrate based on a wrinkled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film obtained by transferring corrugated structures on the aluminium/polystyrene bilayer film, onto which silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are deposited by thermal evaporation. The as-fabricated SERS substrate exhibits a high enhancement factor (∼1.19×10⁵), good signal uniformity (RSD of 6.27%), and excellent batch-to-batch reproducibility (RSD of 7.3%) for rhodamine 6 G. In addition, the Ag NPs@W-PDMS film can maintain high detection sensitivity even after mechanical deformations of bending or torsion for 100 cycles. More importantly, being flexible, transparent, and light, the Ag NPs@W-PDMS film can both float on the water surface and conformally contact with the curved surface for in situ detection. The malachite green in aqueous environment and on apple peel can be easily detected down to 10^-6 M with a portable Raman spectrometer. Therefore, it is expected that such a versatile flexible SERS substrate has great potential in on-site, in situ contaminant monitoring for realistic applications.

Material design, development, and trend for surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful and non-invasive spectroscopic technique that can provide rich and specific chemical fingerprint information for various target molecules through effective SERS substrates. In view of the strong dependence of the SERS signals on the properties of the SERS substrates, design, exploration, and construction of novel SERS-active nanomaterials with low cost and excellent performance as the SERS substrates have always been the foundation and the top priority for the development and application of the SERS technology. This review specifically focuses on the extensive progress made in the SERS-active nanomaterials and their enhancement mechanism since the first discovery of SERS on the nanostructured plasmonic metal substrates. The design principles, unique functions, and influencing factors on the SERS signals of different types of SERS-active nanomaterials are highlighted, and insight into their future challenge and development trends is also suggested. It is highly expected that this review could benefit a complete understanding of the research status of the SERS-active nanomaterials and arouse the research enthusiasm for them, leading to further development and wider application of the SERS technology.

Ultrasensitive enhanced Raman spectroscopy by hybrid surface-enhanced and interference-enhanced Raman scattering with metal-insulator-metal structures

High-sensitivity, reproducible, and low-cost substrate has been a major obstacle for practical sensing application of surface-enhancement Raman scattering (SERS). In this work, we report a type of simple SERS substrate which is composed of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure of Ag nanoisland (AgNI)-SiO₂-Ag film (AgF). The substrates are fabricated by only evaporation and sputtering processes, which are simple, fast and low-cost. By combining the hotspots and interference-enhanced effects in AgNIs and the plasmonic cavity (SiO₂) between AgNIs and AgF, the proposed SERS substrate shows an enhancement factor (EF) of 1.83 × 10⁸ with limit of detection (LOD) down to 10^-17mol/L for rhodamine 6 G (R6G) molecules. The EFs are ∼18 times higher than that of conventional AgNIs without MIM structure. In addition, the MIM structure shows excellent reproducibility with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 9%. The proposed SERS substrate is fabricated only with evaporation and sputtering technique and the conventionally used lithographic methods or chemical synthesis are not required. This work provides a simple way to fabricate ultrasensitive and reproducible SERS substrates which show great promise for developing various biochemical sensors with SERS.

Chemical conjugation to differentiate monosaccharides by Raman and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Sugars play important roles in numerous biological processes, from providing energy to modifying proteins to alter their function. Glycosylation, the attachment of a sugar residue to a protein, is the most common post translational modification. Identifying the glycans on a protein is a useful tool both for pharmaceutical development as well as probing the proteome and glycome further. Sugars, however, are difficult analytes to probe due to their isomeric nature. In this work, Raman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are used to identify different monosaccharide species based on the vibrational modes of these isomeric analytes. The weak scattering of the sugars was overcome through conjugation with phenylboronic acid to provide a larger Raman scattering cross section and induce slight changes in the observed spectra associated with the structure of the monosaccharides. Spontaneous Raman, SERS in flow, and static SERS detection were performed in order to discriminate between arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucose, mannose, and ribose, as well as provide a method for identification and quantification for these sugar conjugates.

Glucose detection through surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: A review

Glucose detection is of vital importance to diabetes diagnosis and treatment. Optical approaches in glucose sensing have received much attention in recent years due to the relatively low cost, portable, and mini-invasive or non-invasive potentials. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) endows the benefits of extremely high sensitivity because of enhanced signals and specificity due to the fingerprint of molecules of interest. However, the direct detection of glucose through SERS was challenging because of poor adsorption of glucose on bare metals and low cross section of glucose. In order to address these challenges, several approaches were proposed and utilized for glucose detection through SERS. This review article mainly focuses on the development of surface enhanced Raman scattering based glucose sensors in recent 10 years. The sensing mechanisms, rational design and sensing properties to glucose are reviewed. Two strategies are summarized as intrinsic sensing and extrinsic sensing. Four general categories for glucose sensing through SERS are discussed including SERS active platform, partition layer functionalized surface, boronic acid based sensors, and enzymatic reaction based biosensors. Finally, the challenges and outlook for SERS based glucose sensors are also presented.

Design and evaluation of Raman reporters for the Raman-silent region

Rationale: Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is proving to be a useful tool for biomedical imaging. However, this imaging technique can suffer from poor signal-to-noise ratio, as the complexity of biological tissues can lead to overlapping of Raman bands from tissues and the Raman reporter molecule utilized. Methods: Herein we describe the synthesis of triple bond containing Raman reporters that scatter light in the biological silent window, between 1750 cm^-1 and 2750 cm^-1. Results: Our SERS nanoprobes are comprised of uniquely designed Raman reporters containing either alkyne- or cyano-functional groups, enabling them to be readily distinguished from background biological tissue. Conclusion: We identify promising candidates that eventually can be moved forward as Raman reporters in SERS nanoparticles for highly specific contrast-enhanced Raman-based disease or analyte detection in biological applications.

Novel Cellulose Fibre-Based Flexible Plasmonic Membrane for Point-of-Care SERS Biomarker Detection in Chronic Wound Healing

Background

Wound management is stretching the limits of health systems globally, challenging clinicians to evaluate the effectiveness of their treatments and deliver appropriate care to their patients. Visual inspection and manual measurement of wound size are subjective, often inaccurate and inconsistent. Growth factors, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and proteases, play important roles in cutaneous wound healing. However, little is known about the point-of-care monitoring of the changes in such markers during the healing process. Here, we explore the capability of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as a viable point-of-care platform to monitor the changes of these surrogate indicators of healing status in chronic wounds.

Methods

We developed a biofunctionalized flexible, cost-effective, scalable and easy-to-fabricate plasmonic SERS substrate using cellulose fibre (CF), which is used for sensing of wound markers based on a modified immunoassay method.

Results

We evaluated and selected the reliable silver nano-island thickness that will be sputtered onto the CF-based substrate for the highest SERS enhancement. Using this biofunctionalized SERS substrate, we detected varying concentrations of MMP-9 (10–5000 ng/mL) and TNF-α (5–100 ng/mL) proteins to model the wound exudates. This SERS detection method demonstrates a linear response within biologically relevant concentrations, ranging from 10 to 500 ng/mL for MMP-9 and 5 to 25 ng/mL for TNF-α for these surrogate indicators.

Conclusion

Our SERS sensing platform achieved detection limits in the µM to sub-nM range and displayed high sensitivity and selectivity. This could result in a cheap, point-of-care device that provides a non-invasive measure of cutaneous wound healing in real time. We envision that these flexible substrates after activation may be incorporated into wound dressings in future for routine monitoring of wound healing status.

Optical glucose biosensor built-in disposable strips and wearable electronic devices

On-demand screening, real-time monitoring and rapid diagnosis of ubiquitous diseases, such as diabetes, at early stages are indispensable in personalised treatment. Emerging impacts of nano/microscale materials on optical and portable biosensor strips and devices have become increasingly important in the remarkable development of sensitive visualisation (i.e. visible inspection by the human eye) assays, low-cost analyses and personalised home testing of patients with diabetes. With the increasing public attention regarding the self-monitoring of diabetes, the development of visual readout, easy-to-use and wearable biosensors has gained considerable interest. Our comprehensive review bridges the practical assessment gap between optical bio-visualisation assays, disposable test strips, sensor array designs and full integration into flexible skin-based or contact lens devices with the on-site wireless signal transmission of glucose detection in physiological fluids. To date, the fully modulated integration of nano/microscale optical biosensors into wearable electronic devices, such as smartphones, is critical to prolong periods of indoor and outdoor clinical diagnostics. Focus should be given to the improvements of invasive, wireless and portable sensing technologies to improve the applicability and reliability of screen display, continuous monitoring, dynamic data visualisation, online acquisition and self and in-home healthcare management of patients with diabetes.

Fabrication optimization and application of 3D hybrid SERS substrates

Three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic nanostructures with nanoparticles that can be tuned have got a lot of attention in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) due to the unique 3D plasmonic coupling. Here, two nanoparticles, gold nanosphere (AuNS) and gold nanooctahedra (AuNO), were used to construct 3D hybrid SERS substrates to investigate the effect of nanoparticle spatial position on the SERS performance of the 3D nanostructure and to obtain 3D substrates with high SERS activity. And more hybrid combination possibilities were tested to explore the variation trend of hot spots generated when the nanoparticles were near. First, two-dimensional (2D) planar substrates were prepared using the air–liquid interface-assisted self-assembly method, to examine the effect of nanoparticle size on SERS performance. Then, 3D hybrid SERS substrates were further prepared layer by layer to discuss the effect of different combination methods within three layers on SERS performance. The optimized 3D hybrid substrate with the sandwich structure of AuNS/AuNO/AuNS performed the strongest SERS enhancement effect, whose intensity was 4.1 and 1.9 times that of AuNS/AuNS/AuNS and AuNO/AuNO/AuNO, respectively, and had good reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.08%). Furthermore, the thiram molecular result showed that the prepared AuNS/AuNO/AuNS had good linear relationship (R² of 0.991) and good molecule detection sensitivity (the minimum detection volume of thiram is 100 ppb), which demonstrated the great potential of the 3D hybrid SERS substrates in practical analysis.

The SERS effect of 3D hybrid substrate composed of AuNS and AuNO can be adjusted by changing the size and location of nanoparticles in the substrate, and SERS effect of the optimized substrate was better than that prepared by single nanoparticles.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Intra-Nanogap Au Plasmonic Nanostructures for Bioanalytical Applications

Plasmonic nanogap-enhanced Raman scattering has attracted considerable attention in the fields of Raman-based bioanalytical applications and materials science. Various strategies have been proposed to prepare nanostructures with an inter- or intra-nanogap for fundamental study models or applications. This report focuses on recent advances in synthetic methods to fabricate intra-nanogap structures with diverse dimensions, with detailed focus on the theory and bioanalytical applications. Synthetic strategies ranging from the use of a silica layer to small molecules, the use of polymers and galvanic replacement, are extensively investigated. Furthermore, various core structures, such as spherical, rod-, and cube-shaped, are widely studied, and greatly expand the diversity of plasmonic nanostructures with an intra-nanogap. Theoretical calculations, ranging from the first plasmonic hybridization model that is applied to a concentric Au-SiO2 -Au nanosphere to the modern quantum corrected model, have evolved to accurately describe the plasmonic resonance property in concentric core-shell nanostructures with a subnanometer nanogap. The greatly enhanced and uniform Raman responses from the localized Raman reporter in the built-in nanogap have made it possible to achieve promising probes with an extraordinary high sensitivity in various formats, such as biomolecule detection, high-resolution cell imaging, and an in vivo imaging application.

Fabrication and Characterization of a Metallic-Dielectric Nanorod Array by Nanosphere Lithography for Plasmonic Sensing Application

In this paper, a periodic metallic–dielectric nanorod array which consists of Si nanorods coated with 30 nm Ag thin film set in a hexagonal configuration is fabricated and characterized. The fabrication procedure is performed by using nanosphere lithography with reactive ion etching, followed by Ag thin-film deposition. The mechanism of the surface and gap plasmon modes supported by the fabricated structure is numerically demonstrated by the three-dimensional finite element method. The measured and simulated absorptance spectra are observed to have a same trend and a qualitative fit. Our fabricated plasmonic sensor shows an average sensitivity of 340.0 nm/RIU when applied to a refractive index sensor ranging from 1.0 to 1.6. The proposed substrates provide a practical plasmonic nanorod-based sensing platform, and the fabrication methods used are technically effective and low-cost.

Hierarchical Laser-Patterned Silver/Graphene Oxide Hybrid SERS Sensor for Explosive Detection

We demonstrate an ultrafast laser-ablated hierarchically patterned silver nanoparticle/graphene oxide (AgNP/GO) hybrid surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for highly sensitive and reproducible detection of an explosive marker 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT). A hierarchical laser-patterned silver sheet (Ag-S) is achieved by ultrafast laser ablation in air with pulse energies of 25, 50, and 100 μJ. Multiple laser pulses at a wavelength of 800 nm and a pulse repetition rate of 50 fs at 1 kHz are directly focused on Ag-S to produce and deposit AgNPs onto Ag-S. The surface morphology of ablated Ag-S was evaluated using atomic force microscopy, optical profilometry, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A rapid increase in the ablation rate with increasing laser energy was observed. Selected area Raman mapping is performed to understand the intensity and size distribution of AgNPs on Ag-S. Further, GO was spin-coated onto the AgNPs produced by ultrafast ablation on Ag-S. The hierarchical laser-patterned AgNP/GO hybrid structure was characterized using FESEM, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Further, hierarchical laser-patterned AgNP/GO hybrid structures have been utilized as SERS-active substrates for the selective detection of 2,4-DNT, an explosive marker. The developed SERS-active sensor shows good stability and high sensitivity up to picomolar (pM) concentration range with a Raman intensity enhancement of ∼10¹⁰ for 2,4-DNT. The realized enhancement of SERS intensity is due to the cumulative effect of GO coated on Ag-S as a proactive layer and AgNPs produced by ultrafast ablation.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Studies of Disc-on-Pillar (DOP) Arrays: Contrasting Enhancement Factor with Analytical Performance

The use of nanomachining methods capable of reproducible construction of nano-arrayed devices have revolutionized the field of plasmonic sensing by the introduction of a diversity of rationally engineered designs. Significant strides have been made to fabricate plasmonic platforms with tailored interparticle gaps to improve their performance for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications. Over time, a dichotomy has emerged in the implementation of SERS for analytical applications, the construction of substrates, optimization of interparticle spacing as a means to optimize electromagnetic field enhancement at the localized surface plasmon level, and the substrate sensitivity over extended areas to achieve quantitative performance. This work assessed the enhancement factor of plasmonic Ag/SiO₂/Si disc-on-pillar (DOP) arrays of variable pitch with its analytical performance for quantitative applications. Experimental data were compared with those from finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations used in the optimization of the array dimensions. A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of benzenethiol rendered highly reproducible signals (RSD ∼4-10%) and SERS substrate enhancement factor (SSEF) values in the orders of 10⁶-10⁸ for all pitches. Spectra corresponding to rhodamine 6G (R6G) and 4-aminobenzoic acid demonstrated the advantages of using the more densely packed DOP arrays with a 160 nm pitch (gap = 40 nm) for quantitation in spite of the strongest SSEF was attained for a pitch of 520 nm corresponding to a 400 nm gap.

Controlling surface morphology and sensitivity of granular and porous silver films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, SERS

The design of efficient substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for large-scale fabrication at low cost is an important issue in further enhancing the use of SERS for routine chemical analysis. Here, we systematically investigate the effect of different radio frequency (rf) plasmas (argon, hydrogen, nitrogen, air and oxygen plasma) as well as combinations of these plasmas on the surface morphology of thin silver films. It was found that different surface structures and different degrees of surface roughness could be obtained by a systematic variation of the plasma type and condition as well as plasma power and treatment time. The differently roughened silver surfaces act as efficient SERS substrates showing greater enhancement factors compared to as prepared, sputtered, but untreated silver films when using rhodamine B as Raman probe molecule. The obtained roughened silver films were fully characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron (XPS and Auger) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) as well as contact angle measurements. It was found that different morphologies of the roughened Ag films could be obtained under controlled conditions. These silver films show a broad range of tunable SERS enhancement factors ranging from 1.93 × 102 to 2.35 × 105 using rhodamine B as probe molecule. The main factors that control the enhancement are the plasma gas used and the plasma conditions, i.e., pressure, power and treatment time. Altogether this work shows for the first time the effectiveness of a plasma treatment for surface roughening of silver thin films and its profound influence on the interface-controlled SERS enhancement effect. The method can be used for low-cost, large-scale production of SERS substrates.

Facing Challenges in Real-Life Application of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering: Design and Nanofabrication of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrates for Rapid Field Test of Food Contaminants

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is capable of detecting a single molecule with high specificity and has become a promising technique for rapid chemical analysis of agricultural products and foods. With a deeper understanding of the SERS effect and advances in nanofabrication technology, SERS is now on the edge of going out of the laboratory and becoming a sophisticated analytical tool to fulfill various real-world tasks. This review focuses on the challenges that SERS has met in this progress, such as how to obtain a reliable SERS signal, improve the sensitivity and specificity in a complex sample matrix, develop simple and user-friendly practical sensing approach, reduce the running cost, etc. This review highlights the new thoughts on design and nanofabrication of SERS-active substrates for solving these challenges and introduces the recent advances of SERS applications in this area. We hope that our discussion will encourage more researches to address these challenges and eventually help to bring SERS technology out of the laboratory.

Graphene-assisted multilayer structure employing hybrid surface plasmon and magnetic plasmon for surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy

A graphene-assisted vertical multilayer structure is proposed for high performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopies on a single substrate, employing simultaneous localized surface plasmon in the visible region and magnetic plasmon resonance in the mid-infrared region. Such multilayer structure consists of a monolayer graphene sandwiched between Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) microstructure, which can be easily fabricated by a standard surface micromachining process. Benefiting from the large near field enhancement by the hybrid plasmons in both visible and mid-infrared regions, a high enhancement factor of up to 10⁷ for SERS and 10⁵ for SEIRA can be achieved. Additionally, the strong magnetic resonance of the MIM microstructure can be tuned in broadband to selectively enhance the desired vibration modes of molecules. The strong SERS and SEIRA enhancement together with easy fabrication provides new opportunities for developing integrated plasmonic devices for multispectral detection of molecules on the same substrate.

Dragonfly wing decorated by gold nanoislands as flexible and stable substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)

A flexible and stable biomimetic SERS substrate was successfully fabricated by depositing gold (Au) nanoislands on the dragonfly wings (DW) via a simple DC magnetron sputtering system. Characterizations of the Au/DW nanostructure indicated that the optimum Au/DW-45 (sputtering time was 45 min) substrate owns high sensitivity, good stability and outstanding reproducibility. The limit of detection (LOD) for Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) was as low as 10⁻⁷ M and enhancement factor (EF) was calculated to be 2.8 × 10⁶. 70-day-duration stability tests showed that Raman intensity of R6G reduced only by 12.9% after aging for 70 days. The maximum relative standard deviations (RSD) of SERS intensities from 100 positions of Au/DW-45 substrate were less than 8.3%, revealing outstanding uniformity and reproducibility. Moreover, the flexible Au/DW-45 bioscaffold arrays were employed to solve the vital problem of pesticide residues. By directly sampling from tomato peels via a “press and peel off” approach, cypermethrin has been rapidly and reliably determined with a LOD centered at 10⁻³ ng/cm² and a correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.987. The positive results demonstrated that the Au-based DW biomimetic arrays may offer an efficient SERS platform for the identification of various pesticide residues on real samples.

A silver/graphene oxide nanocomposite film as a flexible SERS substrate for reliable quantitative analysis using high-speed spiral scanning spectrometry

Excellent uniformity (∼1.5% RSD) in SERS signals was obtained from an Ag/GO decorated adhesive tape on a simple in-house cylindrical scanning system. The calibration curve for the quantitative analysis of CV shows reliable linearity ranging from 75 nM to 50 μM. This novel method is promising to be an adept tool for universal quantitative analysis and be used complementarily with the conventional Raman mapping method for a more time efficient and reliable analysis.

Application of nanoparticles in cancer detection by Raman scattering based techniques

In vitro detection technique Raman spectroscopy (Rs), in one number times another Rs  based expert ways of art and so on, are useful instruments for cancer  discovery. top gave greater value to Raman spectroscopy  sers is a relatively new careful way for in vitro  and in vivo discovery that takes away bad points of simple Raman spectroscopy (Rs). Raman spectroscopy (RS) and in particular, multiple RS-based techniques are useful for cancer detection. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a relatively new method for both in vitro and in vivo detection, which eliminates the drawbacks of simple RS. Using nanoparticles has elevated the sensitivity and specificity of SERS. SERS has the potential to increase sensitivity, specificity and spatial resolution in cancer detection, especially in cooperation with other diagnostic imaging tools such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and PET-scan polyethylene terephthalate. Developing a hand held instrument for detecting cancer or other illnesses may also be feasible by using SERS. Frequently, novel nanoparticles are used in SERS. With a focus on nanoparticle utilization, we review the benefits of RS in cancer detection and related biomarkers. With a focus on nanoparticles utilizations, the benefits of RS in cancer detection and related biomarkers were reviewed. In addition, Raman applications to detect some of prevalent were discussed. Also more investigated cancers such as breast and colorectal cancer, multiple nanostructures and their possible special biomarkers, especially as SERS nano-tag have been reviewed. The main purpose of this article is introducing of most popular nanotechnological approaches in cancer detection by using Raman techniques. Moreover, have been caught up on detection and reviewed some of the most prevalent and also more investigated cancers such as breast, colorectal cancer, multiple intriguing nanostructures, especially as SERS nano-tag, special cancer biomarkers and related approaches. The main purpose of this article is to introduce the most popular nanotechnological approaches in cancer detection by using Raman techniques.

Novel routes to electromagnetic enhancement and its characterisation in surface- and tip-enhanced Raman scattering

Quantitative understanding of the electromagnetic component in enhanced Raman spectroscopy is often difficult to achieve on account of the complex substrate structures utilised. We therefore turn to two structurally simple systems amenable to detailed modelling. The first is tip-enhanced Raman scattering under electron scanning tunnelling microscopy control (STM-TERS) where, appealing to understanding developed in the context of photon emission from STM, it is argued that the localised surface plasmon modes driving the Raman enhancement exist in the visible and near-infrared regime only by virtue of significant modification to the optical properties of the tip and sample metals (gold here). This is due to the strong dc field-induced (∼10⁹ V m^-1) non-linear corrections to the dielectric function of gold via the third order susceptibility term in the polarisation. Also, sub-5 nm spatial resolution is shown in the modelling. Secondly, we suggest a novel deployment of hybrid plasmonic waveguide modes in surface enhanced Raman scattering (HPWG-SERS). This delivers strong confinement of electromagnetic energy in a ∼10 nm oxide 'gap' between a high-index dielectric material of nanoscale width (a GaAs nanorod and a 100 nm Si slab are considered here) and a metal, yielding a monotonic variation in the Raman enhancement factor as a function of wavelength with no long-wavelength cut-off, both features that contrast with STM-TERS.

Substrate Oxide Layer Thickness Optimization for a Dual-Width Plasmonic Grating for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) Biosensor Applications

This work investigates a new design for a plasmonic SERS biosensor via computational electromagnetic models. It utilizes a dual-width plasmonic grating design, which has two different metallic widths per grating period. These types of plasmonic gratings have shown larger optical enhancement than standard single-width gratings. The new structures have additional increased enhancement when the spacing between the metal decreases to sub-10 nm dimensions. This work integrates an oxide layer to improve the enhancement even further by carefully studying the effects of the substrate oxide thickness on the enhancement and reports ideal substrate parameters. The combined effects of varying the substrate and the grating geometry are studied to fully optimize the device’s enhancement for SERS biosensing and other plasmonic applications. The work reports the ideal widths and substrate thickness for both a standard and a dual-width plasmonic grating SERS biosensor. The ideal geometry, comprising a dual-width grating structure atop an optimal SiO₂ layer thickness, improves the enhancement by 800%, as compared to non-optimized structures with a single-width grating and a non-optimal oxide thickness.

Synthesis of Au NP@MoS₂ Quantum Dots Core@Shell Nanocomposites for SERS Bio-Analysis and Label-Free Bio-Imaging

In this work, we report a facile method using MoS₂ quantum dots (QDs) as reducers to directly react with HAuCl₄ for the synthesis of Au nanoparticle@MoS₂ quantum dots (Au NP@MoS₂ QDs) core@shell nanocomposites with an ultrathin shell of ca. 1 nm. The prepared Au NP@MoS₂ QDs reveal high surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance regarding sensitivity as well as the satisfactory SERS reproducibility and stability. The limit of detection of the hybrids for crystal violet can reach 0.5 nM with a reasonable linear response range from 0.5 μM to 0.5 nM (R² ≈ 0.974). Furthermore, the near-infrared SERS detection based on Au NP@MoS₂ QDs in living cells is achieved with distinct Raman signals which are clearly assigned to the various cellular components. Meanwhile, the distinguishable SERS images are acquired from the 4T1 cells with the incubation of Au NP@MoS₂ QDs. Consequently, the straightforward strategy of using Au NP@MoS₂ QDs exhibits great potential as a superior SERS substrate for chemical and biological detection as well as bio-imaging.

Plasmonic nano-protrusions: hierarchical nanostructures for single-molecule Raman spectroscopy

Classical methods for enhancing the electromagnetic field from substrates for spectroscopic applications, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), have involved the generation of hotspots through directed self-assembly of nanoparticles or by patterning nanoscale features using expensive nanolithography techniques. A novel large-area, cost-effective soft lithographic technique involving glancing angle deposition (GLAD) of silver on polymer gratings is reported here. This method produces hierarchical nanostructures with high enhancement factors capable of analyzing single-molecule SERS. The uniform ordered and patterned nanostructures provide extraordinary field enhancements that serve as excitatory hotspots and are herein interrogated by SERS. The high spatial homogeneity of the Raman signal and signal enhancement over a large area from a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 2-naphthalenethiol demonstrated the uniformity of the hotspots. The enhancement was shown to have a critical dependence on the underlying nanostructure via the surface energy landscape and GLAD angles for a fixed deposition thickness, as evidenced by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy surface analysis of the substrate. The nanostructured surface leads to an extremely concentrated electromagnetic field at sharp nanoscale peaks, here referred to as 'nano-protrusions', due to the coupling of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with localized SPR. These nano-protrusions act as hotspots which provide Raman enhancement factors as high as 10⁸ over a comparable SAM on silver. Comparison of our substrate with the commercial substrate Klarite™ shows higher signal enhancement and minimal signal variation with hotspot spatial distribution. By using the proper plasmon resonance angle corresponding to the laser source wavelength, further enhancement in signal intensity can be achieved. Single-molecule Raman spectra for rhodamine 6G are obtained from the best SERS substrate (a GLAD angle of 60°). The single-molecule spectrum is invariant over the substrate, due to the patterned ordered nanostructures (nano-protrusions).

Sensing of p53 and EGFR Biomarkers Using High Efficiency SERS Substrates

In this paper we describe a method for the determination of protein concentration using Surface Enhanced Raman Resonance Scattering (SERRS) immunoassays. We use two different Raman active linkers, 4-aminothiophenol and 6-mercaptopurine, to bind to a high sensitivity SERS substrate and investigate the influence of varying concentrations of p53 and EGFR on the Raman spectra. Perturbations in the spectra are due to the influence of protein-antibody binding on Raman linker molecules and are attributed to small changes in localised mechanical stress, which are enhanced by SERRS. These influences are greatest for peaks due to the C-S functional group and the Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) was found to be inversely proportional to protein concentration.

A three-dimensional silver nanoparticles decorated plasmonic paper strip for SERS detection of low-abundance molecules

The fabrication of SERS substrates, which can offer the advantages of strong Raman signal enhancement with good reproducibility and low cost, is still a challenge for practical applications. In this work, a simple three-dimensional (3D) paper-based SERS substrate, which contains plasmonic silver-nanoparticles (AgNPs), has been developed by the silver mirror reaction. This paper strip was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), etc. Pretreatment of the paper as well as the reaction time, temperature, and reagent concentrations for the silver mirror reaction were varied for further studies. With the optimized experimental parameters, the AgNPs synthesized and distributed in-situ on the paper strip could give more favorable SERS performance. The limit of detection (LOD) as low as 10(-11)M for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and 10(-9)M for p-aminothiophenol (p-ATP) plus wide linear range for the log-log plot of Raman intensity versus analyte concentration were achieved. The detection of R6G in rain water was also carried out successfully. The merits of this protocol include low cost, easy operation, high sensitivity and acceptable stability, which make it ideal for the detection of environmental samples in trace amounts.

Highly Reproducible and Sensitive SERS Substrates with Ag Inter-Nanoparticle Gaps of 5 nm Fabricated by Ultrathin Aluminum Mask Technique

Applicable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates require high enhancement factor (EF), excellent spatial reproducibility, and low-cost fabrication method on a large area. Although several SERS substrates with high EF and relative standard deviation (RSD) of signal less than 5% were reported, reliable fabrication for large area SERS substrates with both high sensitivity and high reproducibility via low-cost routes remains a challenge. Here, we report a facile and cost-effective fabrication process for large-scale SERS substrate with Ag inter-nanoparticle (NP) gaps of 5 nm based on ultrathin alumina mask (UTAM) surface pattern technique. Such closely packed Ag NP arrays with high density of electromagnetic field enhancement ("hot spots") on large area exhibit high SERS activity and excellent reproducibility, simultaneously. Rhodamine 6G molecules with concentration of 1 × 10(-7) M are used to determine the SERS performance, and an EF of ∼10(9) is obtained. It should be noted that we obtain RSDs about 2% from 10 random spots on an area of 1 cm(2), which implies the highly reproducible signals. Finite-difference time-domain simulations further suggest that the enhanced electric field originates from the narrow gap, which agrees well with the experimental results. The low value of RSD and the high EF of SERS signals indicate that the as-prepared substrate may be promising for highly sensitive and uniform SERS detection.

A rapid and label-free SERS detection method for biomarkers in clinical biofluids

A metal carbonyl-functionalized nanostructured substrate can be used in a rapid and simple assay for the detection of A1AT, a potential biomarker for bladder cancer, in clinical urine samples. The assay involves monitoring changes in the carbonyl stretching vibrations of the metal carbonyl via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). These vibrations lie in the absorption spectral window of 1800-2200 cm(-1), which is free of any spectral interference from biomolecules.

300 mm Wafer-level, ultra-dense arrays of Au-capped nanopillars with sub-10 nm gaps as reliable SERS substrates

The 193 nm deep UV immersion lithography is leveraged to fabricate highly dense and uniform arrays of Au-capped Si nanopillars on a 300 mm wafer level, and the substrates are applied in surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy for reliable molecule detection. Due to the sub-10 nm gap sizes and ultra-high array density with the lattice constant less than 100 nm, our nanopillar based substrates outperform the current commercial products in terms of the signal intensity, reproducibility and fabrication scale.

Multifunctional substrates of thin porous alumina for cell biosensors

We have fabricated anodic porous alumina from thin films (100/500 nm) of aluminium deposited on technological substrates of silicon/glass, and investigated the feasibility of this material as a surface for the development of analytical biosensors aiming to assess the status of living cells. To this goal, porous alumina surfaces with fixed pitch and variable pore size were analyzed for various functionalities. Gold coated (about 25 nm) alumina revealed surface enhanced Raman scattering increasing with the decrease in wall thickness, with factor up to values of approximately 10(4) with respect to the flat gold surface. Bare porous alumina was employed for micro-patterning and observation via fluorescence images of dye molecules, which demonstrated the surface capability for a drug-loading device. NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells were cultured in vitro and examined after 2 days since seeding, and no significant (P > 0.05) differences in their proliferation were observed on porous and non-porous materials. The effect on cell cultures of pore size in the range of 50-130 nm--with pore pitch of about 250 nm--showed no significant differences in cell viability and similar levels in all cases as on a control substrate. Future work will address combination of all above capabilities into a single device.

High-adhesive superhydrophobic 3D nanostructured silver films applied as sensitive, long-lived, reproducible and recyclable SERS substrates

Silver films with different morphologies were chemically deposited by controlling the bath composition. It is found that the wettability and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties were closely connected with the surface morphology. Due to the perfect 3D morphology and the 3D electromagnetic field enhanced by three types of nanogaps distributed uniformly, the 3D microball/nanosheet (MN) silver film shows better SERS properties than those of 2D nanosheets (NSs) and nanoparticles (NPs). The MN silver film showed high adhesive superhydrophobic properties after an oxidation process without any functionalization. It can hold the liquid droplet and trace the target molecules in a rather small volume. The SERS properties of the oxidized MN substrate were enhanced remarkably compared to those of the freshly prepared substrate because of the concentrating effect of the superhydrophobicity. The as-prepared 3D MN silver substrate has also exhibited good performances in reproducibility and reutilization which makes it a promising substrate for molecule tracing.

Highly uniform and reproducible surface enhanced Raman scattering on air-stable metallic glassy nanowire array

Preparation of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanostructures with both high sensitivity as well as high reproducibility has always been difficult and costly for routine SERS detection. Here we demonstrate air-stable metallic glassy nanowire arrays (MGNWAs), which were prepared by a cheap and rapid die nanoimprinting technique, could exhibit high SERS enhancement factor (EF) as well as excellent reproducibility. It shows that Pd_40.5Ni_40.5P₁₉ MGNWA with nanowires of 55 nm in diameter and 100 nm in pitch possesses high SERS activity with an EF of 1.1 × 10⁵, which is 1–3 orders of magnitudes higher than that of the reported crystal Ni-based nanostructures, and an excellent reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 9.60% measured by 121 points over an area of 100 μm*100 μm. This method offers an easy, rapid, and low-cost way to prepare highly sensitive and reproducible SERS substrates and makes the SERS more practicable.

Centimeter-scale-homogeneous SERS substrates with seven-order global enhancement through thermally controlled plasmonic nanostructures

Highly homogeneous surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates were produced on the centimeter scale by annealing solution-processed gold nanoparticles into plasmonic nanoislands. The average size and separation of the nanoislands are controlled by tuning the annealing temperature. SERS measurements yield a global enhancement factor as large as 10(7) over an area of 2 × 2 cm(2) for samples annealed at temperatures ranging from 150 to 200 °C. Spectral "mapping" of the SERS signal shows a homogeneous distribution of hotspots with high contrast over the entire substrate. The relative standard deviation of the SERS signal is less than 5.4% over an area of 50 × 50 μm(2). Theoretical simulations show strong dependence of the near-field electromagnetic enhancement on the size and the separation gap of the gold nanoislands. Both average gap size and average nanoisland size increase with an increase in annealing temperature. Intensive plasmonic coupling between the adjacent gold nanoislands leads to broadband resonance for samples annealed at 150 and 200 °C; thus, the laser excitation within the spectrum of plasmon resonance at 633 or 785 nm produced significantly enhanced SERS for 4-mercaptopyridine molecules modified on the gold nanoislands.