AuNPs@mesoSiO2 composites for SERS detection of DTNB molecule

Highly enhanced Hg2+ detection using optimized DNA and a double coffee ring effect-based SERS map

Hg2+ is a highly toxic heavy metal ion that poses serious risks to human health and the environment. Due to its tendency to accumulate, it can easily enter the human body through the food chain, making it crucial to develop detection sensors that mimic real environmental conditions. To achieve this, our study employed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor using two strategies. First, we designed a highly selective probe by optimizing the probe and reporter DNA strands to bind Hg2+ within a thymine-thymine mismatch. Second, we used the double coffee ring effect to concentrate the optimized probe DNA. These two strategies greatly enhanced the SERS signal, resulting in a sensor with exceptional sensitivity, a low detection limit of 208.71 fM, and superior selectivity for Hg2+. The practical application of the sensor was demonstrated by successfully detecting Hg2+ in drinking water, tap water, canned tuna, and tuna sashimi. Additionally, the experimental results were presented in a pizza-shaped SERS mapping image, allowing users to estimate Hg2+ concentrations through color, providing a user-friendly and intuitive method for data comprehension and analysis. Our study presents a promising approach for sensitive and reliable Hg2+ detection, with potential implications for environmental monitoring and food safety.

Rapid and accurate SERS assay of disease-related nucleic acids based on isothermal cascade signal amplifications of CRISPR/Cas13a system and catalytic hairpin assembly

Developing rapid, accurate and convenient nucleic acid diagnostic techniques is essential for the prevention and control of contagious diseases that are prone to gene mutations and may have homologous sequences, especially emerging infectious diseases such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Herein, a one-pot SERS assay integrating isothermal cascade signal amplification strategy (i.e., CRISPR/Cas13a system (Cas13a) and catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA), Cas13a-CHA) and SERS-active silver nanorods (AgNRs) sensing chips was proposed for rapid and accurate detection of disease-related nucleic acids. Taking SARS-CoV-2 RNA assay as a model, the Cas13a-CHA based SERS sensing strategy can achieve ultra-high sensitivity low to 5.18 × 102 copies·mL-1 within 60 min, and excellent specificity, i.e., not only the ability to identify SARS-CoV-2 RNA from gene mutations, but also incompatibility with coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV), and other respiratory viruses. The proposed Cas13a-CHA based SERS assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA has satisfactory sensitivity, specificity, uniformity, and repeatability, and can be easily expanded and universalized for screening different viruses, which is expected to promise as a crucial role for diagnosis of disease-related nucleic acids in various medical application scenarios.

Constructing graphene oxide/Au nanoparticle cellulose membranes for SERS detection of mixed pesticide residues in edible chrysanthemum

Edible chrysanthemum is widely cultivated and used as an important ingredient of medicine, tea and multifunctional food. During the planting of chrysanthemum, pesticides are extensively used for preventing plant diseases and insect pests. To ensure the food safety of edible chrysanthemum, rapid detection methods are urgently needed for on-site inspection. In this study, a graphene oxide/Au nanoparticle (GO/Au NP) cellulose substrate was prepared through layer-by-layer assembly of GO and Au NPs on a mixed cellulose ester membrane. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection of four types of organophosphorus and organosulfur pesticides was achieved by filtering the extracting solution through the substrate and analysing SERS spectra. Qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of fenthion, phoxim, isocarbophos and thiram was accomplished with the detection limits of 38.01, 8.13, 48.97 and 8.74 ng mL-1, respectively. A spiking experiment further demonstrated the feasibility of this method for rapid and on-site detection of mixed pesticides in chrysanthemum. This study provides a new approach for rapid detection of multiple hazardous substances in flowering and herbal plants.

Core-Satellite Nanoassemblies as SPR/SERS Dual-Mode Plasmonic Sensors for Sensitively Detecting Ractopamine in Complex Media

Highly sensitive and reliable detection of β-adrenergic agonists is especially necessary due to the illegal abuse of growth-promoting feed additives. Here, we develop a novel surface plasmon resonance/surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SPR/SERS) dual-mode plasmonic sensor based on core-satellite nanoassemblies for the highly sensitive and reliable detection of ractopamine (RAC). The addition of RAC results in the decomposition of core-satellite nanoassemblies and consequently changes the Rayleigh scattering color of dark-field microscopy (DFM) images and the Raman scattering intensity of SERS spectra. The excellent sensitivity, specificity, and uniformity of this strategy were confirmed by detecting RAC in various complex media in the farm-to-table chain, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.03 ng/mL in an aqueous solution. In particular, the convenient access to livestock sewage not only ensures animal welfare but also provides great convenience for the market regulation of β-agonists. The success of our on-site strategy only with a portable Raman device promises great application prospects for β-agonist detection.

Highly stable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy assay on abnormal thrombin levels in the blood plasma of cancer patients

The accurate discrimination of specific protein levels in the blood of cancer patients is of great importance in clinical diagnostics and prognosis. Here, we report a double-aptamer sandwich strategy on plasmonic magnetic beads (MBs) for a dual-reporter surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) assay for assessing abnormal thrombin (TB) levels in the blood plasma of cancer patients. This SERS assay demonstrated a linear analysis range of 20-400 pM in serum with a limit of detection as low as 20 pM, and to the best of our knowledge, this represents the first attempt to highly stably discriminate an abnormal TB level in the plasma of clinical cancer patients. Two recognition elements of TB aptamers provided high specificity and the dual-reporter assay demonstrated greatly reduced false-positive signals. The sandwich complex produced an efficient SERS "hot spot" to make up for the flaws of the insufficient enhancement of monomer metal nanoparticles. The plasmonic MBs enabled the direct tracking of ultratrace proteins in plasma while avoiding complicated pretreatment with only a few washing steps required. As a preliminary exploration, our report details a new potential tool with high sensitivity, selectivity, and practicality for disease-related protein testing in clinical diagnostics and prognosis.

Simultaneous detection of tumor-related mRNA and miRNA in cancer cells with magnetic SERS nanotags

The design of simultaneous detection method has broad prospects for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Herein, we reported a low cost and sensitive SERS sensing platform for simultaneous p21 mRNA and miRNA-21 detection based on duplex-specific nuclease signal amplification (DSNSA) plus multifunctional Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ magnetic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ MNPs). Here, Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ MNPs were used as a separation substrate, and Au@AgNPs served as stable and ultrasensitive SERS nanotags. Firstly, Au@AgNPs and Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ MNPs were attached to both ends of capture probe (CP) by covalent bonds. Under the assistance of the target p21 mRNA and miRNA-21, DNA (CP) of the DNA-RNA heteroduplexes could be specifically degraded by DSN and the SERS nanotags that were released from the surface of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ MNPs. Meanwhile, the target p21 mRNA and miRNA-21 were released and then involved in the next round of signal reactions. The proposed strategy allowed quantitative detection of p21 mRNA and miRNA-21 and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.12 fM and 0.17 fM, respectively. This method gives a great potential for multiplex detection of biological molecules.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopywith gold nanorods modified by sodium citrate and liquid-liquid interface self-extraction for detection of deoxynivalenol in Fusarium head blight-infected wheat kernels coupled with a fully convolution network

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and deep learning network were adopted to develop a detection method for deoxynivalenol (DON) residues in Fusarium head blight (FHB)-infected wheat kernels. First, the liquid-liquid interface self-extraction was conducted for the rapid separation of DON in samples. Then, the gold nanorods modified with sodium citrate (Cit-AuNRs) were prepared as substrate for a gigantic enhancement of SERS signal. Results showed that the spectral characteristic peaks for DON residues of 99.5-0.5 mg/L were discernible with the relative standard deviation of 4.2%, with the limit of detection of 0.11 mg/L. Meanwhile, the fully convolutional network for the spectra of matrix input form was developed and obtained the optimal quantitative performance, with a root-mean-square error of prediction of 4.41 mg/L and coefficient of determination of prediction of 0.9827. Thus, the proposed method provides a simple, sensitive, and intelligent detection for DON in FHB-infected wheat kernels.

Deep learning networks for the recognition and quantitation of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based on machine learning methods has been applied in material analysis, biological detection, food safety, and intelligent analysis. However, machine learning methods generally require extra preprocessing or feature engineering, and handling large-scale data using these methods is challenging. In this study, deep learning networks were used as fully connected networks, convolutional neural networks (CNN), fully convolutional networks (FCN), and principal component analysis networks (PCANet) to determine their abilities to recognise drugs in human urine and measure pirimiphos-methyl in wheat extract in the two input forms of a one-dimensional vector or a two-dimensional matrix. The best recognition result for drugs in urine with an accuracy of 98.05% in the prediction set was obtained using CNN with spectra as input in the matrix form. The optimal quantitation for pirimiphos-methyl was obtained using FCN with spectra in the matrix form, and the analysis was accomplished with a determination coefficient of 0.9997 and a root mean square error of 0.1574 in the prediction set. These networks performed better than the common machine learning methods. Overall, the deep learning networks provide feasible alternatives for the recognition and quantitation of SERS.

Tunable Coffee Ring Formation on Polycarbonate Nanofiber Film for Sensitive SERS Detection of Phenylalanine in Urine

A new method based on the coffee ring effect was developed for improving the sensitivity, simplicity, and robustness of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) in determining trace levels of analytes. In this method, a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized silver colloidal (AgC) solution was first prepared and mixed with a sample solution. Following deposition of the mixture solution on a solid substrate with a rough surface, a coffee ring was formed once the solvent had evaporated. The formation of a coffee ring not only concentrated the analyte but also reduced the space between silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to strengthen the hotspot effect, thereby considerably improving SERS sensitivity. To strengthen the coffee ring effect further, the surface roughness of the solid support and PVP content of the AgC solution were investigated. The results indicated that an increase in surface roughness reduced the size of the coffee rings, whereas the addition of PVP not only stabilized the AgNPs but also improved the compactness of the coffee rings. When applying the proposed method to determine the phenylalanine (Phe) level in urine for rapid screening of the phenylketonuria disorder, strong chemical interference from uric acid (UA), which is a major component in urine, was observed. To minimize the interference from UA, ZnO powder was applied to the urine sample to adsorb UA prior to SERS detection. After cleaning by using ZnO, the SERS signals of Phe were revealed for quantitative purposes. Under the optimized conditions, both the sensitivity and reproducibility of SERS measurement considerably improved. Quantitative analyses revealed that the developed method is highly feasible for the rapid determination of Phe in real samples.

Magnetic SERS Strip for Sensitive and Simultaneous Detection of Respiratory Viruses

Rapid and early diagnosis of respiratory viruses is key to preventing infections from spreading and guiding treatments. Here, we developed a sensitive and quantitative surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based lateral flow immunoassay (SERS-based LFIA) strip for simultaneous detection of influenza A H1N1 virus and human adenovirus (HAdV) by using Fe₃O₄@Ag nanoparticles as magnetic SERS nanotags. The new type of Fe₃O₄@Ag magnetic tags, which were conjugated with dual-layer Raman dye molecules and target virus-capture antibodies, performs the following functions: specific recognition and magnetic enrichment of target viruses in the solution and SERS detection of the viruses on the strip. Based on this strategy, the magnetic SERS strip can directly be used for real biological samples without any sample pretreatment steps. The limits of detection for H1N1 and HAdV were 50 and 10 pfu/mL, respectively, which were 2000 times more sensitive than those from the standard colloidal gold strip method. Moreover, the proposed strip is easy to operate, rapid, stable, and can achieve high throughput and is thus a potential tool for early detection of virus infection.

Evaluation of 3D gold nanodendrite layers obtained by templated galvanic displacement reactions for SERS sensing and heterogeneous catalysis

Dense layers of overlapping three-dimensional (3D) gold nanodendrites characterized by high specific surfaces as well as by abundance of sharp edges and vertices creating high densities of SERS hotspots are promising substrates for SERS-based sensing and catalysis. We have evaluated to what extent structural features of 3D gold nanodendrite layers can be optimized by the initiation of 3D gold nanodendrite growth at gold particles rationally positioned on silicon wafers. For this purpose, galvanic displacement reactions yielding 3D gold nanodendrites were guided by hexagonal arrays of parent gold particles with a lattice constant of 1.5 μm obtained by solid-state dewetting of gold on topographically patterned silicon wafers. Initiation of the growth of dendritic features at the edges of the gold particles resulted in the formation of 3D gold nanodendrites while limitation of dendritic growth to the substrate plane was prevented. The regular arrangement of the parent gold particles supported the formation of dense layers of overlapping 3D gold nanodendrites that were sufficiently homogeneous within the resolution limits of Raman microscopy. Consequently, SERS mapping experiments revealed a reasonable degree of uniformity. The proposed preparation algorithm comprises only bottom-up process steps that can be carried out without the use of costly instrumentation.

Screening and multiple detection of cancer exosomes using an SERS-based method

As a kind of most important cancer biomarker, exosomes are getting more frequently investigated in cancer diagnosis. In this study, we proposed an SERS-based method for the screening and simultaneous multiple detection of exosomes using magnetic substrates and SERS probes. Specifically, the capturing substrates are achieved using gold shell magnetic nanobeads modified by aptamers, which can capture most kinds of exosomes by recognizing the generic surface protein CD63. Moreover, the SERS probes are made of gold nanoparticles decorated with a Raman reporter and a specific aptamer for targeting exosomes. Further, for the simultaneous detection of multiple kinds of exosomes, three kinds of SERS probes were designed using different SERS reporters. While detecting specific kinds of exosomes, the capturing substrates were mixed with these three kinds of SERS probes. When the target exosome is present, an apta-immunocomplex can be formed among the target exosomes, the substrate, and the corresponding kind of SERS probes, and the other non-specific SERS probes remain in the suspension. Hence, an SERS signal with a decreased intensity will be detected in the supernatant, indicating the presence of the target exosomes. Finally, this detection method has also been successfully employed for the detection of exosomes in real blood samples; this proves that the proposed SERS-based method is a promising tool for clinical cancer screening based on exosomes.

Facile synthesis of high-performance SiO2@Au core–shell nanoparticles with high SERS activity

This study proposes a facile and general method for fabricating a wide range of high-performance SiO₂@Au core–shell nanoparticles (NPs).

Development of a miRNA surface-enhanced Raman scattering assay using benchtop and handheld Raman systems

DNA-functionalized nanoparticles, when paired with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), can rapidly detect microRNA. However, widespread use of this approach is hindered by drawbacks associated with large and expensive benchtop Raman microscopes. MicroRNA-17 (miRNA-17) has emerged as a potential epigenetic indicator of preeclampsia, a condition that occurs during pregnancy. Biomarker detection using an SERS point-of-care device could enable prompt diagnosis and prevention as early as the first trimester. Recently, strides have been made in developing portable Raman systems for field applications. An SERS assay for miRNA-17 was assessed and translated from traditional benchtop Raman microscopes to a handheld system. Three different photoactive molecules were compared as potential Raman reporter molecules: a chromophore, malachite green isothiocyanate (MGITC), a fluorophore, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate, and a polarizable small molecule 5,5-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). For the benchtop Raman microscope, the DTNB-labeled assay yielded the greatest sensitivity under 532-nm laser excitation, but the MGITC-labeled assay prevailed at 785 nm. Conversely, DTNB was preferable for the miniaturized 785-nm Raman system. This comparison showed significant SERS enhancement variation in response to 1-nM miRNA-17, implying that the sensitivity of the assay may be more heavily dependent on the excitation wavelength, instrumentation, and Raman reporter chosen than on the plasmonic coupling from DNA/miRNA-mediated nanoparticle assemblies.

Synthesis of Multi-Au-Nanoparticle-Embedded Mesoporous Silica Microspheres as Self-Filtering and Reusable Substrates for SERS Detection

Surface-enhanced Raman-scattering-based (SERS-based) biosensing in biological fluids is constrained by nonspecific macromolecule adsorptions and disposable property of the SERS substrate. Here, novel multi-Au-nanoparticle-embedded mesoporous silica microspheres (AuNPs/mSiO₂) were prepared using a one-pot method, which served as reliable substrates for SERS enhancement associated with salient features of self-filtering ability and reusability. The fabrication and physical characterization of AuNPs/mSiO₂ microspheres were discussed, and SERS activity of this novel substrate was investigated by using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) as Raman probe. The responses of our substrates to Raman intensities exhibited a SERS enhancement factor of 2.01 × 10⁷ and high reproducibility (relative standard deviation of 6.13%). Proof-of-concept experiments were designed to evaluate the self-filtering ability of the substrates in bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum solution, separately. The results clearly demonstrate that mesoporous SiO₂ can serve as a molecular sieve via size exclusion and avoid Raman signal interference of biomacromolecules in biological fluids. Subsequently, feasibility of practical application of AuNPs/mSiO₂ microspheres was assessed by quantitative detection of methotrexate (MTA) in serum. The method exhibited good linearity between 1 and 110 nM with the correlation coefficients of 0.996, which proved that the obtained AuNPs/mSiO₂ microspheres were good SERS substrates for determination of small biomolecules directly in biological fluids without need of manipulating samples. In addition, the substrate maintained its SERS response during multiple cycles, which was evaluated by recording Raman signals for 4-MBA before and after thermal annealing, thereby demonstrating the high thermostability and satisfactory reusability. These results offered the AuNPs/mSiO₂ microspheres attractive advantages in their SERS biosensing.

Highly narrow nanogap-containing Au@Au core-shell SERS nanoparticles: size-dependent Raman enhancement and applications in cancer cell imaging

Cellular imaging technologies employing metallic surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags have gained much interest toward clinical diagnostics, but they are still suffering from poor controlled distribution of hot spots and reproducibility of SERS signals. Here, we report the fabrication and characterization of high narrow nanogap-containing Au@Au core-shell SERS nanoparticles (GCNPs) for the identification and imaging of proteins overexpressed on the surface of cancer cells. First, plasmonic nanostructures are made of gold nanoparticles (∼15 nm) coated with gold shells, between which a highly narrow and uniform nanogap (∼1.1 nm) is formed owing to polyA anchored on the Au cores. The well controlled distribution of Raman reporter molecules, such as 4,4'-dipyridyl (44DP) and 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), are readily encoded in the nanogap and can generate strong, reproducible SERS signals. In addition, we have investigated the size-dependent SERS activity of GCNPs and found that with the same laser wavelength, the Raman enhancement discriminated between particle sizes. The maximum Raman enhancement was achieved at a certain threshold of particle size (∼76 nm). High narrow nanogap-containing Au@Au core-shell SERS tags (GCTs) were prepared via the functionalization of hyaluronic acid (HA) on GCNPs, which recognized the CD44 receptor, a tumor-associated surface biomarker. And it was shown that GCTs have a good targeting ability to tumour cells and promising prospects for multiplex biomarker detection.

Design and preparation of a recyclable microfluidic SERS chip with integrated Au@Ag/TiO2 NTs

Design and preparation of a recyclable microfluidic SERS chip with integrated Au@Ag/TiO₂ NTs.

Core-shell of FePt@SiO2-Au magnetic nanoparticles for rapid SERS detection

In this study, multifunctional hybrid nanoparticles composed of iron platinum (FePt), silica (SiO2), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) had been developed for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) application. Core-shell structure of SiO2 and FePt nanoparticles (FePt@SiO2) was fabricated through sol-gel process and then immobilized gold nanoparticles onto the surface of FePt@SiO2, which displays huge Raman enhancement effect and magnetic separation capability. The resulting core-shell nanoparticles were subject to evaluation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), zeta potential measurement, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TEM observation revealed that the particle size of resultant nanoparticles displayed spherical structure with the size ~30 nm and further proved the successful immobilization of Au onto the surface of FePt@SiO2. Zeta potential measurement exhibited the successful reaction between FePt@SiO2 and AuNPs. The rapid SERS detection and identification of small biomolecules (adenine) and microorganisms (gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus) was conducted through Raman spectroscopy. In summary, the novel core-shell magnetic nanoparticles could be anticipated to apply in the rapid magnetic separation under the external magnetic field due to the core of the FePt superparamagnetic nanoparticles and label-free SERS bio-sensing of biomolecules and bacteria.

"Elastic" property of mesoporous silica shell: for dynamic surface enhanced Raman scattering ability monitoring of growing noble metal nanostructures via a simplified spatially confined growth method

The Raman enhancing ability of noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) is an important factor for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate screening, which is generally evaluated by simply mixing as-prepared NPs with Raman reporters for Raman signal measurements. This method usually leads to incredible results because of the NP surface coverage nonuniformity and reporter-induced NP aggregation. Moreover, it cannot realize in situ, continuous SERS characterization. Herein, we proposed a dynamic SERS monitoring strategy for NPs with precisely tuned structures based on a simplified spatially confined NP growth method. Gold nanorod (AuNR) seed NPs were coated with a mesoporous silica (mSiO2) shell. The permeability of mSiO2 for both reactive species and Raman reporters rendered the silver overcoating reaction and SERS indication of NP growth. Additionally, the mSiO2 coating ensured monodisperse NP growth in a Raman reporter-rich reaction system. Moreover, "elastic" features of mSiO2 were observed for the first time, which is crucial for holding the growing NP without breakage. This feature makes the mSiO2 coating adhere to metal NPs throughout the growing process, providing a stable Raman reporter distribution microenvironment near the NPs and ensuring that the substrate's SERS ability comparison is accurate. Three types of NPs, i.e., core-shell Au@AgNR@mSiO2, Au@AuNR@mSiO2, and yolk-shell Au@void@AuNR@mSiO2 NPs, were synthesized via core-shell overgrowth and galvanic replacement methods, showing the versatility of the approach. The living cell SERS labeling ability of Au@AgNR@mSiO2-based tags was also demonstrated. This strategy addresses the problems of multiple batch NP preparation, aggregation, and surface adsorption differentiation, which is a breakthrough for the dynamic comparison of SERS ability of metal NPs with precisely tuned structures and optical properties.