• Ceramist
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.281-300
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• 2019

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was first discovered in 1974 by an unexpected Raman signal increase from Pyridine adsorbed on rough Ag electrode surfaces by the M. Fleishmann group. M. Moskovits group suggested that this phenomenon could be caused by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which is a collective oscillation of free electrons at the surface of metal nanostructures by an external light source. After about 40 years, the SERS study has attracted great attention as a biomolecule analysis technology, and more than 2500 new papers and 500 review papers related to SERS topic have been published each year in recently. The advantages of biomaterials analysis using SERS are as follows; ① Molecular level analysis is possible based on unique fingerprint information of biomolecule, ② There is no photo-bleaching effect of the Raman reporters, allowing long-term monitoring of biomaterials compared to fluorescence microscopy, ③ SERS peak bandwidth is approximately 10 to 100 times narrower than fluorescence emission from organic phosphor or quantum dot, resulting in higher analysis accuracy, ④ Single excitation wavelength allows analysis of various biomaterials, ⑤ By utilizing near-infrared (NIR) SERS-activated nanostructures and NIR excitation lasers, auto-fluorescence noise in the visible wavelength range can be avoided from in vivo experiment and light damage in living cells can be minimized compared to visible lasers, ⑥ The weak Raman signal of the water molecule makes it easy to analyze biomaterials in aqueous solutions. For this reason, SERS is attracting attention as a next-generation non-invasive medical diagnostic device as well as substance analysis. In this review, the principles of SERS and various biomaterial analysis principles using SERS analysis will be introduced through recent research papers.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3681-3685
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• 2012

We developed a simple and effective method for the SERS-based detection of protein-small molecule complexes and label-free proteins using avidin-induced silver aggregation. Upon excitation with light of the appropriate wavelength (633 and 532 nm), the aggregated silver nanoparticles generate a strong electric field that couples with the resonance of the molecules (atto610 and cytochrome c), increasing the characteristic signals of these molecules and resulting in sensitive detection. The detection limit of biotin with the proposed method is as low as 48 ng/mL. The most important aspect of this method is the induction of silver aggregation by a protein (avidin), which makes the silver more biocompatible. This technique is very useful for the detection of protein-small molecule complexes.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.342-352
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• 2022

Purine catabolite screening enables reliable diagnosis of certain diseases. In this regard, the development of a facile detection strategy with high sensitivity and selectivity is demanded for point-of-care applications. In this work, the simultaneous detection of uric acid (UA), xanthine (XA), and hypoxanthine (HX) was carried out as model purine catabolites by surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). The detection assay was conducted by employing high-aspect ratio Au nanopillar substrates coupled with in-situ Au electrodeposition on the substrates. The additional modification of the Au nanopillar substrates via electrodeposition was found to be an effective method to encapsulate molecules in solution into nanogaps of growing Au films that increase metal-molecule contact and improve substrate's sensitivity and selectivity. In complex solutions, the approach facilitated ternary identification of UA, XA, and HX down to concentration limits of 4.33 𝜇M, 0.71 𝜇M, and 0.22 𝜇M, respectively, which are comparable to their existing levels in normal human physiology. These results demonstrate that the proposed platform is reliable for practical point-of-care analysis of biofluids where solution matrix effects greatly reduce selectivity and sensitivity for rapid on-site disease diagnosis.