Cellular SERS structures for non-invasive study of living cells
Abstract Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a potent and highly selective tool to chemically identify and determine the structure of molecules and materials. However, the large biomolecules and living cells are still difficult to study using modern SERS-substrates. Here we present a new approach to the geometry of the surface of plasmon nanostructures (cellular surfaces), which makes it possible to efficiently work with volumetric objects as cells or organelles. We use the scanning Raman microscope to map the SERS from the specially prepared microcapsules formed with a Layer-by-Layer deposition method and with built-in Raman tags (Indocyanine green). It demonstrated the possibility to detect SERS signal from Indocyanine green in microcapsules located in cavities, while the signal from the Raman dye in microcapsules located on a flat surface is not detected. The obtained results can be useful in biosensors applications.