Uniform Periodic Bowtie SERS Substrate with Narrow Nanogaps Obtained by Monitored Pulsed Electrodeposition

Digital colloid-enhanced Raman spectroscopy by single-molecule counting

Quantitative detection of various molecules at very low concentrations in complex mixtures has been the main objective in many fields of science and engineering, from the detection of cancer-causing mutagens and early disease markers to environmental pollutants and bioterror agents1-5. Moreover, technologies that can detect these analytes without external labels or modifications are extremely valuable and often preferred6. In this regard, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy can detect molecular species in complex mixtures on the basis only of their intrinsic and unique vibrational signatures7. However, the development of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for this purpose has been challenging so far because of uncontrollable signal heterogeneity and poor reproducibility at low analyte concentrations8. Here, as a proof of concept, we show that, using digital (nano)colloid-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, reproducible quantification of a broad range of target molecules at very low concentrations can be routinely achieved with single-molecule counting, limited only by the Poisson noise of the measurement process. As metallic colloidal nanoparticles that enhance these vibrational signatures, including hydroxylamine-reduced-silver colloids, can be fabricated at large scale under routine conditions, we anticipate that digital (nano)colloid-enhanced Raman spectroscopy will become the technology of choice for the reliable and ultrasensitive detection of various analytes, including those of great importance for human health.

Evolutionary Optimized, Monocrystalline Gold Double Wire Gratings as a Novel SERS Sensing Platform

Achieving reliable and quantifiable performance in large-area surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates poses a formidable challenge, demanding signal enhancement while ensuring response uniformity and reproducibility. Conventional SERS substrates often made of inhomogeneous materials with random resonator geometries, resulting in multiple or broadened plasmonic resonances, undesired absorptive losses, and uneven field enhancement. These limitations hamper reproducibility, making it difficult to conduct comparative studies with high sensitivity. This study introduces an innovative approach that addresses these challenges by utilizing monocrystalline gold flakes to fabricate well-defined plasmonic double-wire resonators through focused ion-beam lithography. Inspired by biological strategy, the double-wire grating substrate (DWGS) geometry is evolutionarily optimized to maximize the SERS signal by enhancing both excitation and emission processes. The use of monocrystalline material minimizes absorption losses and ensures shape fidelity during nanofabrication. DWGS demonstrates notable reproducibility (RSD = 6.6%), repeatability (RSD = 5.6%), and large-area homogeneity > 104 µm2. It provides a SERS enhancement for sub-monolayer coverage detection of 4-Aminothiophenol analyte. Furthermore, DWGS demonstrates reusability, long-term stability on the shelf, and sustained analyte signal stability over time. Validation with diverse analytes, across different states of matter, including biological macromolecules, confirms the sensitive and reproducible nature of DWGSs, thereby establishing them as a promising platform for future sensing applications.

Unusual Raman Enhancement Effect of Ultrathin Copper Sulfide

In surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), 2D materials are explored as substrates owing to their chemical stability and reproducibility. However, they exhibit lower enhancement factors (EFs) compared to noble metal-based SERS substrates. This study demonstrates the application of ultrathin covellite copper sulfide (CuS) as a cost-effective SERS substrate with a high EF value of 7.2 × 104 . The CuS substrate is readily synthesized by sulfurizing a Cu thin film at room temperature, exhibiting a Raman signal enhancement comparable to that of an Au noble metal substrate of similar thickness. Furthermore, computational simulations using the density functional theory are employed and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements are performed to investigate the enhancement mechanisms. The results indicate that polar covalent bonds (Cu─S) and strong interlayer interactions in the ultrathin CuS substrate increase the probability of charge transfer between the analyte molecules and the CuS surface, thereby producing enhanced SERS signals. The CuS SERS substrate demonstrates the selective detection of various dye molecules, including rhodamine 6G, methylene blue, and safranine O. Furthermore, the simplicity of CuS synthesis facilitates large-scale production of SERS substrates with high spatial uniformity, exhibiting a signal variation of less than 5% on a 4-inch wafer.

Silver nanosheets self-assembled on polystyrene microspheres to form "hot spots" with different nanogap distances for high sensitive SERS detection

Herein, we reported a facile method to control the nanogap distance of silver (Ag) nanosheets to obtain high sensitive plasmonic Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) microspheres with different diameters were first fabricated using micro-emulsion synthesis, and then the SPS microspheres were coated with Ag nanosheets through chemical synthesis with citric acid/ascorbic acid to form Ag nanosheets@SPS (Ag@SPS) substrates with different nanogap distances. The results showed that the nanogap distance of Ag nanosheets self-assembled on SPS microspheres reduced from 80-150 nm to 28-68 nm when the diameter of SPS microspheres increased from 0.9 to 3.5 μm, and the enhancement factor (EF) increased from 105 to 107, the limit of detection of rhodamine 6G (R6G) for the Ag@SPS microspheres reduced from 10-10 to 10-13 mol/L. It confirmed that the Ag nanosheets coated on the surface of SPS microspheres could achieve ultra trace detection of analyte. Furthermore, the low concentration detection limit for melamine with the Ag@SPS microspheres substrate was about 10-8 mg/L, which is lower than the standard legislated by the European Union and the Food & Drug Administration. In addition, the SERS spectrum of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA) could be also detected when its concentration was 10-8 mol/L. The prepared substrate offered a promising opportunity for SERS practical applications.

Detection of organic dyes using Ag NPAs/SMP SERS substrate produced via sandpaper template-assisted lithography and liquid-liquid interface self-assembly

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a highly sensitive and reliable fingerprinting technique. However, its analytical capability is closely related to the quality of a SERS substrate used for the analysis. In particular, conventional colloidal substrates possess disadvantages in terms of controllability, stability, and reproducibility, which limit their application. In order to address these issues, a simple, cost-effective, and efficient SERS substrate based on silver nanoparticle arrays (Ag NPAs) and sandpaper-molded polydimethylsiloxane (SMP) was proposed in this work. Successfully prepared via template lithography and liquid-liquid interface self-assembly (LLISA), the substrate can be applied to the specific detection of organic dyes in the environment. The substrate exhibited good SERS performance, and the limit of detection (LOD) of rhodamine 6G (R6G) was shown to be 10-7 M under the optimal conditions (1000 grit sandpaper) with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 7.76%. Moreover, the SERS signal intensity was maintained at 60% of the initial intensity after the substrate was stored for 30 days. In addition, the Ag NPAs/SMP SERS substrate was also employed to detect crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB) with the LODs of 10-6 M and 10-7 M, respectively. In summary, the Ag NPAs/SMP SERS substrate prepared in this study has great potential for the detection of organic dyes in ecological environments.

Simultaneous and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 proteins spike and nucleocapsid based on long-range SERS biosensor

BACKGROUND

Early diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is still critical to control COVID-19 outbreak. Traditional polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or lateral flow immunoassay performed poorly on detection times, sample preparation process and accuracy. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based detection has emerged as a powerful analytical technique, which overcomes the above limitations. However, due to the near-field effect of traditional substrate, it is difficult to monitor the binding event of aptamers with proteins. It is obvious that a novel SERS substrate thatsupportedextended and stronger electromagnetic fields was required to hold long-range effects and allow for binding event testing.

RESULTS

Driven by this challenge, we reported a long-range SERS-active substrate, which was built by inserting bowtie nanoaperture arrays in a refractive-index-symmetric environment and Au mirror surfaces, for SARS-CoV-2 protein binding event detection. Then, a double-π structure aptasensor was simply designed through the hybridization of spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins aptamers, and a corresponding complementary strand. This kind of double-π structure would dissociate when targets proteins S and N existed and led to the SERS responses decreased, which established the detection basis of our system. What's more, due to two Raman labels were involved, both proteins S and N can be sensed simultaneously. Our proposed method showed improved sensitivity with a low limit of detection for multiplex detection (1.6 × 10-16 g/mL for protein S and 1.0 × 10-16 g/mL for protein N) over a wide concentration range.

SIGNIFICANCE

This represents the first long-range SERS apatasensor platform for detection of S and N proteins simultaneously. Our method showed high sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility, stability and remarkable recoveries in human in saliva and serum samples, which is particularly important for the early diagnostics of COVID as well as for future unknown coronavirus.

Fabrication of silver nanostructure array patterns (SNAPs) on silicon wafer for highly sensitive and reliable SERS substrates

Metal nanostructure arrays with large amounts of nano-gaps are important for surface enhanced Raman scattering applications, though the fabrications of such nanostructures are difficult due to the complex and multiple synthetic steps. In this research, we report silver nanostructure array patterns (SNAPs) on silicon wafer, which is fabricated with semiconductor manufacturing technology, Cu2O electrochemistry deposition, and Ag In-situ oxidation-reduction growth. Benefiting from the dense and uniform distribution of Ag nanowires, the fabricated SNAPs demonstrate a very strong and uniform surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. The efficiency of SNAPs was investigated by using rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye as an analyte molecule. The results show that the minimum detectable concentration of R6G can reach as low as 10-11 M, and the Raman signals in the random region show good signal homogeneity with a low relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.77 %. These results indicate that the SNAPs perform a great sensitivity and uniformity as a SERS substrate. Furthermore, we used the SNAPs substrate to detect antibiotic sulfadiazine. The main peaks in sulfadiazine Raman and vibration modes assignments were obtained and the quantitative analysis model was established by principal component analysis (PCA). The detection and application results of sulfadiazine indicate that the SNAPs substrate can be applied for trace detection of antibiotics. In addition, we have cited the application of the SNAPs substrate in anti-counterfeiting labels. These practical applications demonstrate that the fabricated SNAPs can potentially provide a way to develop low-cost SERS platforms for environmental detections, biomedicine analysis, and commodities anti-counterfeiting.

Enhancement of wide-band trace terahertz absorption spectroscopy based on microstructures: a review

Research on the interaction between nanoscale materials and light holds significant scientific significance for the development of fields such as optoelectronic conversion and biosensing. The study of micro- and nano-optics has produced numerous outstanding research achievements by utilizing the dielectric optical coupling mechanism and plasmon effects to enhance the interaction between light and matter. These findings have demonstrated tremendous potential for applications in the field of molecular fingerprint sensing. This review focuses on a retrospective analysis of recent research studies in the enhancement of wide-band trace terahertz absorption spectroscopy. The physical mechanisms of using waveguide structures, dielectric metasurfaces/meta-gratings, and spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPs) to improve the interaction between light and trace-amount matters are introduced. The new approaches and methods for enhancing broad-band terahertz absorption spectroscopy of trace samples using microstructure designs are discussed. Additionally, we elucidate the scientific ideas and exploratory achievements in enhancing terahertz fingerprint spectroscopy detection. Finally, we provide an outlook on the research and development direction and potential practical applications of absorption spectroscopy enhancement detection.

Recent Development and Applications of Stretchable SERS Substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a cutting-edge technique for highly sensitive analysis of chemicals and molecules. Traditional SERS-active nanostructures are constructed on rigid substrates where the nanogaps providing hot-spots of Raman signals are fixed, and sample loading is unsatisfactory due to the unconformable attachment of substrates on irregular sample surfaces. A flexible SERS substrate enables conformable sample loading and, thus, highly sensitive Raman detection but still with limited detection capabilities. Stretchable SERS substrates with flexible sample loading structures and controllable hot-spot size provide a new strategy for improving the sample loading efficiency and SERS detection sensitivity. This review summarizes and discusses recent development and applications of the newly conceptual stretchable SERS substrates. A roadmap of the development of SERS substrates is reviewed, and fabrication techniques of stretchable SERS substrates are summarized, followed by an exhibition of the applications of these stretchable SERS substrates. Finally, challenges and perspectives of the stretchable SERS substrates are presented. This review provides an overview of the development of SERS substrates and sheds light on the design, fabrication, and application of stretchable SERS systems.

Design of Silica@Au Hybrid Nanostars for Enhanced SERS and Photothermal Effect

Core-shell nanostructures of silicon oxide@noble metal have drawn a lot of interest due to their distinctive characteristics and minimal toxicity with remarkable biocompatibility. Due to the unique property of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), plasmonic nanoparticles are being used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based detection of pollutants and photothermal (PT) agents in cancer therapy. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of multifunctional silica core - Au nanostars shell (SiO2 @Au NSs) nanostructures using surfactant free aqueous phase method. The SERS performance of the as-synthesized anisotropic core-shell NSs was examined using Rhodamine B (RhB) dye as a Raman probe and resulted in strong enhancement factor of 1.37×106 . Furthermore, SiO2 @Au NSs were also employed for PT killing of breast cancer cells and they exhibited a concentration-dependent increase in the photothermal effect. The SiO2 @Au NSs show remarkable photothermal conversion efficiency of up to 72 % which is unprecedented. As an outcome, our synthesized NIR active SiO2 @Au NSs are of pivotal importance to have their dual applications in SERS enhancement and PT effect.

Nanorod reassembling on a sprayed SERS substrate under confined evaporation inducing ultrasensitive TPhT detection

Triphenyltin is an estrogen like pollutant that poses significant environmental threats due to its highly accumulative toxicity. To improve regulation, a fast and sensitive detection method is urgently needed. SERS can capture fingerprint information and is capable of trace detection, making it an ideal solution. Here, we present a sprayed substrate comprised of lightconfining structures and gold nanorod assemblies that are easy to prepare, low-cost, and can form dense hotspots under confined evaporation. The substrates are three-layered: initially, a gold nanorod layer is sprayed as a support, then sputter Ag film on the surface to form a lightconfining structure, followed by another gold nanorod layer sprayed on the Ag film. The coupling of nanorod assembly with lightconfining Ag films leads to 10-fold sensitivity. In addition, sample droplet evaporation in a limited area called confined evaporation contributes to nanorod migration and reassembly on the corner of the substrate, enhancing analytes absorption, and substantially lowered the detection limits. By systematically evaluating the substrate performance, we were able to obtain an average enhancement factor of 3.31 × 106. After confined evaporation, the detection limit reached 10-18 M for R6G and for triphenyltin, it achieved 10-9 M. This novel method represents a significant advancement toward SERS application in detecting trace pollutants.

Casting liquid PDMS on self-assembled bilayer polystyrene nanospheres to prepare a SERS substrate with two layers of nanopits for detection of p-nitrophenol

p-Nitrophenol (PNP) is widely used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and dyestuffs. It is vital to detect trace PNP in the environment, because it poses significant environmental hazards due to its high toxicity. In this paper, a new method was reported for preparing a SERS substrate with excellent SERS activity by combining self-assembly techniques and flexible materials. First, the three-dimensional (3D) polystyrene (PS) photonic crystal (PC) structural master was fabricated by stacking two layers of self-assembled PS nanospheres with different diameters. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a complementary structure to the master was obtained by casting, curing and peeling off. Finally, the PDMS-Ag substrate was fabricated by sputtering a thin Ag layer on the PDMS structure. The enhancement factor (EF) of the PDMS-Ag substrate was calculated to be 2.90 × 109 by using 4-amino thiophenol (ATP) as the probe molecule, and the limit of detection (LOD) for ATP can reach 10-11 M. And the RSD of the SERS intensity for the peak at 1078 cm-1 on the PDMS-Ag substrates from batch to batch was within 2%, indicating the high reproducibility of the as-prepared substrate. The quantitative analysis of PNP was achieved with a LOD of 10-8 M. Therefore, the PDMS-Ag substrate exhibits high sensitivity and reproducibility, and it can detect PNP in trace amounts, with great potential for detecting other contaminants.

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.

Low-Variance Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Using Confined Gold Nanoparticles over Silicon Nanocones

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates are of utmost interest in the analyte detection of biological and chemical diagnostics. This is primarily due to the ability of SERS to sensitively measure analytes present in localized hot spots of the SERS nanostructures. In this work, we present the formation of 67 ± 6 nm diameter gold nanoparticles supported by vertically aligned shell-insulated silicon nanocones for ultralow variance SERS. The nanoparticles are obtained through discrete rotation glancing angle deposition of gold in an e-beam evaporating system. The morphology is assessed through focused ion beam tomography, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The optical properties are discussed and evaluated through reflectance measurements and finite-difference time-domain simulations. Lastly, the SERS activity is measured by benzenethiol functionalization and subsequent Raman spectroscopy in the surface scanning mode. We report a homogeneous analytical enhancement factor of 2.2 ± 0.1 × 10⁷ (99% confidence interval for N = 400 grid spots) and made a comparison to other lithographically derived assemblies used in SERS. The strikingly low variance (4%) of our substrates facilitates its use for many potential SERS applications.

A robust SERS calibration using a pseudo-internal intensity reference

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with high molecular sensitivity and specificity is a powerful nondestructive analytical tool. Since its discovery, SERS measurements have suffered from the vulnerability of calibration curve, which makes quantification analysis a great challenge. In this work, we report a robust calibration method by introducing a referenced measurement as the intensity standard. This intensity reference not only has the advantages of the internal standard method such as reflecting the SERS substrate enhancement, but also avoids the introduction of competing adsorption between target molecules and the internal standard. Based on the normalized calibration curve, the magnitude of the R6G concentration can be well evaluated from 10^-7 M to 10^-12 M. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this pseudo-internal standard method can also work well using a different type of molecule as the reference. This SERS calibration method would be beneficial for the development of quantitative SERS analysis.

Electric, magnetic, and shear field-directed assembly of inorganic nanoparticles

Ordered assemblies of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) have shown tremendous potential for wide applications due to their unique collective properties, which differ from those of individual NPs. Various assembly methods, such as external field-directed assembly, interfacial assembly, template assembly, biomolecular recognition-mediated assembly, confined assembly, and others, have been employed to generate ordered inorganic NP assemblies with hierarchical structures. Among them, the external field-directed assembly method is particularly fascinating, as it can remotely assemble NPs into well-ordered superstructures. Moreover, external fields (e.g., electric, magnetic, and shear fields) can introduce a local and/or global field intensity gradient, resulting in an additional force on NPs to drive their rotation and/or translation. Therefore, the external field-directed assembly of NPs becomes a robust method to fabricate well-defined functional materials with the desired optical, electronic, and magnetic properties, which have various applications in catalysis, sensing, disease diagnosis, energy conversion/storage, photonics, nano-floating-gate memory, and others. In this review, the effects of an electric field, magnetic field, and shear field on the organization of inorganic NPs are highlighted. The methods for controlling the well-ordered organization of inorganic NPs at different scales and their advantages are reviewed. Finally, future challenges and perspectives in this field are discussed.

Plasmonic Array at the Liquid-Liquid Interface: A Dual-Mode Optical Sensing Platform for Multianalytes

Analyte-triggered nanoparticle (NP) assemblies in bulk colloidal suspension have been extensively utilized in various optical sensors. Nevertheless, the assembling process is still limited by the slow diffusion dynamics of NPs and the low concentration of analytes in trace detections, which hinders further improvement of the sensitivity and repeatability of the sensors. In this work, by functionalizing the gold NPs with specific ligands, we constructed a dual-mode optical sensing platform for multianalytes based on the plasmonic NP array at the liquid-liquid interface. Through emulsification, the NP diffusion kinetics are boosted for several orders, and the NPs are condensed from the bulk aqueous phase to the liquid-liquid interface as a plasmonic array. The as-formed metasurface generates major reflectance and surface-enhanced Raman scattering changes in response to analytes, providing two optical sensing modes. As prototypes, cysteine and glucose are selected as the target molecules, achieving the limit of detection as 193 ± 2 and 297 ± 12 pM, respectively.

Designed Growth of AgNP Arrays for Anti-counterfeiting Based on Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Signals

Based on etched PS sphere arrays, the different growths of Ag nanoparticles with tunable LSPR are designed when SiO2-25 nm/Ag-30 nm/SiO2-100 nm sandwich nanocavity structures are annealed at 500 °C, including the hexagonal silver nanoparticle rings, circular silver nanoparticle rings, and aggregated silver nanoparticles. The uniformity of particle size and regularity of position generate enhanced electromagnetic field and good surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy signals as confirmed by UV-vis observation and finite difference time domain method simulation. The developed nanostructures are effectively used as stable, nonreproducible, and markable anti-counterfeiting signs.

Rapid and non-invasive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection of chlorpyrifos in fruits using disposable paper-based substrates charged with gold nanoparticle/halloysite nanotube composites

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used organophosphate insecticides in agricultural production. Nevertheless, the residues of chlorpyrifos in agricultural by-product seriously threaten human health. Thus, the ultrasensitive detection of chlorpyrifos residues in agri-food products is of great demand. Herein, an AuNP/HNT-assembled disposable paper SERS substrate was prepared by an electrostatic self-assembly method to detect chlorpyrifos residues. The AuNP/HNT paper substrate exhibited high SERS activity, good reproducibility, and long-term stability, which was successfully used for quantitative detection of chlorpyrifos; the detection limit reached 7.9 × 10^-9 M. For spiked apple samples the calculated recovery was 87.9% with a RSD value of 6.1%. The excellent detection ability of AuNP/HNT paper-based SERS substrate indicated that it will play an important role in pesticide detection in the future. AuNP/HNT assembled disposable paper SERS substrate was prepared by an electrostatic self-assembly method to detect chlorpyrifos residues in fruits.

Wafer-Scale and Cost-Effective Manufacturing of Controllable Nanogap Arrays for Highly Sensitive SERS Sensing

The metallic nanogap has been proved as an efficient architecture for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications. Although a lot of nanogap fabrication methods have been proposed in the last few decades, the economical and high-yield manufacturing of sub-10 nm gaps remains a challenge. Here, we present a convenient and cost-effective fabrication method for wafer-scale patterning of metallic nanogaps, which simply combines photolithographic metal patterning, swelling-induced nanocracking, and superimposition metal sputtering without requiring expensive nanofabrication equipment. By controlling the swelling time and metal deposition thickness, the gap size can be precisely defined, down to the sub-10 nm scale. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the fabricated nanogap array can be used as an excellent SERS substrate for molecule measurements and shows a high Raman enhancement factor of ∼10⁸ and a high sensitivity for the detection of rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules, even down to 10^-14 M, indicating an extraordinary capability for single-molecule detection. Due to its high controllability and wafer-scale fabrication capability, this nanogap fabrication method offers a promising route for highly sensitive and economical SERS detections.

Metallic Plasmonic Array Structures: Principles, Fabrications, Properties, and Applications

The vast development of nanofabrication has spurred recent progress for the manipulation of light down to a region much smaller than the wavelength. Metallic plasmonic array structures are demonstrated to be the most powerful platform to realize controllable light-matter interactions and have found wide applications due to their rich and tunable optical performance through the morphology and parameter engineering. Here, various light-management mechanisms that may exist on metallic plasmonic array structures are described. Then, the typical techniques for fabrication of metallic plasmonic arrays are summarized. Next, some recent applications of plasmonic arrays are reviewed, including plasmonic sensing, surface-enhanced spectroscopies, plasmonic nanolasing, and perfect light absorption. Lastly, the existing challenges and perspectives for metallic plasmonic arrays are discussed. The aim is to provide guidance for future development of metallic plasmonic array structures.

AgNPs decorated 3D bionic silicon nanograss arrays pattern with high-density hot-spots for SERS sensing via green galvanic displacement without additives

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing has always been considered as a kind of high-efficiency analysis technique in different areas. Herein, we report a AgNPs decorated 3D bionic silicon (Si) nanograss SERS substrate with higher sensitivity and specificity by green galvanic displacement. The Si nanograss arrays are directly grown on a Si substrate via catalyst-assisted vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth and subsequent plasma interaction. AgNPs were rapidly immobilized on Si nanograss arrays without any organic reagents, and avoiding the interference signal of additives. The AgNPs decorated 3D bionic silicon nanograss arrays not only possess a larger specific surface area (loading more reporter molecules), but also provide a potential distribution and arrangement for plentiful hot spots. Using Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as a probe molecule, the prepared SERS substrates exhibited great potential for high-sensitivity SERS sensing, and pushed the limit of detection (LOD) down to 0.1 pM. A higher Raman analytical enhancement factor (AEF, 3.3 × 10⁷) was obtained, which was two magnitudes higher than our previous Ag micro–nano structures. Additionally, the practicality and reliability of our 3D bionic SERS substrates were confirmed by quantitative analysis of the spiked Sudan I in environmental water, with a wide linear range (from 10⁻¹⁰ M to 10⁻⁶ M) and low detection limit (0.1 nM).

The Si nanograss arrays are directly grown on Si substrate via catalyst-assisted VLS growth and subsequent plasma interaction. AgNPs were rapidly immobilized on Si nanograss arrays for SERS sensing, without any organic reagents and additives.

Bimetallic Au-Ag on a Patterned Substrate Derived from Discarded Blu-ray Discs: Simple, Inexpensive, Stable, and Reproducible Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrates

A simple and reproducible surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate of bimetallic gold-silver (Au-Ag) based on discarded a Blu-ray disc read only memory (BD-ROM) was developed by simply incorporating electrochemical (EC) treatment and chemical reaction. The resurfaced AgBD-ROM substrate (r-AgBD-ROM) was fabricated by EC treatment on a Ag film layer in BD-ROM (AgBD-ROM) to generate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the indented pattern surface. Then, galvanic displacement reaction of Au and Ag was carried out to prepare the bimetallic Au-Ag structure (Au-r-AgBD-ROM). The suitable size and density as well as location of NPs on the surface can be tuned via EC treatment conditions to obtain highly active SERS performance. The SERS enhancement phenomenon on our developed substrate was studied by observing the location of the SERS hot spot obtained by Raman mapping. The developed SERS substrate offers excellent stability (90 days), good uniformity [6.14% relative standard deviation (RSD)], and reproducibility (3.79% of RSD). Moreover, this substrate can be used as a promising sensor for detecting acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and mefenamic acid. This finding suggests a simple and low-priced process, which potentially facilitates fabrication of highly sensitive SERS substrates for practical applications.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Organic Molecules and Living Cells with Gold-Plated Black Silicon

Black silicon (bSi) refers to an etched silicon surface comprising arrays of microcones that effectively suppress reflection from UV to near-infrared (NIR) while simultaneously enhancing the scattering and absorption of light. This makes bSi covered with a nm-thin layer of plasmonic metal, i.e., gold, an attractive substrate material for sensing of bio-macromolecules and living cells using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The performed Raman measurements accompanied with finite element numerical simulation and density functional theory analysis revealed that at the 785 nm excitation wavelength, the SERS enhancement factor of the bSi/Au substrate is as high as 10⁸ due to a combination of electromagnetic and chemical mechanisms. This finding makes the SERS-active bSi/Au substrate suitable for detecting trace amounts of organic molecules. We demonstrate the outstanding performance of this substrate by highly sensitive and specific detection of a small organic molecule of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid and living C6 rat glioma cell nucleic acids/proteins/lipids. Specifically, the bSi/Au SERS-active substrate offers a unique opportunity to investigate the living cells' malignant transformation using characteristic protein disulfide Raman bands as a marker. Our findings evidence that bSi/Au provides a pathway to the highly sensitive and selective, scalable, and low-cost substrate for lab-on-a-chip SERS biosensors that can be integrated into silicon-based photonics devices.

Biosensors for Studies on Adhesion-Mediated Cellular Responses to Their Microenvironment

Cells interact with their microenvironment by constantly sensing mechanical and chemical cues converting them into biochemical signals. These processes allow cells to respond and adapt to changes in their environment, and are crucial for most cellular functions. Understanding the mechanism underlying this complex interplay at the cell-matrix interface is of fundamental value to decipher key biochemical and mechanical factors regulating cell fate. The combination of material science and surface chemistry aided in the creation of controllable environments to study cell mechanosensing and mechanotransduction. Biologically inspired materials tailored with specific bioactive molecules, desired physical properties and tunable topography have emerged as suitable tools to study cell behavior. Among these materials, synthetic cell interfaces with built-in sensing capabilities are highly advantageous to measure biophysical and biochemical interaction between cells and their environment. In this review, we discuss the design of micro and nanostructured biomaterials engineered not only to mimic the structure, properties, and function of the cellular microenvironment, but also to obtain quantitative information on how cells sense and probe specific adhesive cues from the extracellular domain. This type of responsive biointerfaces provides a readout of mechanics, biochemistry, and electrical activity in real time allowing observation of cellular processes with molecular specificity. Specifically designed sensors based on advanced optical and electrochemical readout are discussed. We further provide an insight into the emerging role of multifunctional micro and nanosensors to control and monitor cell functions by means of material design.