scholarly journals SERS Platform Based on Hollow-Core Microstructured Optical Fiber: Technology of UV-Mediated Gold Nanoparticle Growth

Biosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Anastasiia A. Merdalimova ◽  
Polina G. Rudakovskaya ◽  
Timur I. Ermatov ◽  
Alexander S. Smirnov ◽  
Sergey S. Kosolobov ◽  
...  

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful technique for biosensing. However, SERS analysis has several concerns: the signal is limited by a number of molecules and the area of the plasmonic substrate in the laser hotspot, and quantitative analysis in a low-volume droplet is confusing due to the change of concentration during quick drying. The usage of hollow-core microstructured optical fibers (HC-MOFs) is thought to be an effective way to improve SERS sensitivity and limit of detection through the effective irradiation of a small sample volume filling the fiber capillaries. In this paper, we used layer-by-layer assembly as a simple method for the functionalization of fiber capillaries by gold nanoparticles (seeds) with a mean diameter of 8 nm followed by UV-induced chloroauric acid reduction. We also demonstrated a simple and quick technique used for the analysis of the SERS platform formation at every stage through the detection of spectral shifts in the optical transmission of HC-MOFs. The enhancement of the Raman signal of a model analyte Rhodamine 6G was obtained using such type of SERS platform. Thus, a combination of nanostructured gold coating as a SERS-active surface and a hollow-core fiber as a microfluidic channel and a waveguide is perspective for point-of-care medical diagnosis based on liquid biopsy and exhaled air analysis.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong He ◽  
Shupei Xiao ◽  
Tao Dong ◽  
Pengcheng Nie

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is widely used in the prevention and control of crop pests and diseases in agriculture. However, the irrational utilization of pesticides not only causes environmental pollution but also threatens human health. Compared with the conventional techniques for the determination of pesticides in soil, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has shown great potential in ultrasensitive and chemical analysis. Therefore, this paper reported a simple method for synthesizing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with different sizes used as a SERS substrate for the determination of CPF residues in soil for the first time. The results showed that there was a good linear correlation between the SERS characteristic peak intensity of CPF and particle size of the AuNPs with an R2 of 0.9973. Moreover, the prepared AuNPs performed great ultrasensitivity, reproducibility and chemical stability, and the limit of detection (LOD) of the CPF was found to be as low as 10 μg/L. Furthermore, the concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 10 mg/L were easily observed by SERS with the prepared AuNPs and the SERS intensity showed a good linear relationship with an R2 of 0.985. The determination coefficient (Rp2) reached 0.977 for CPF prediction using the partial least squares regression (PLSR) model and the LOD of CPF residues in soil was found to be as low as 0.025 mg/kg. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 3.69% and the recovery ranged from 97.5 to 103.3%. In summary, this simple method for AuNPs fabrication with ultrasensitivity and reproducibility confirms that the SERS is highly promising for the determination of soil pesticide residues.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Rebeca Moldovan ◽  
Valentin Toma ◽  
Bogdan-Cezar Iacob ◽  
Rareș Ionuț Știufiuc ◽  
Ede Bodoki

Extensive effort and research are currently channeled towards the implementation of SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) as a standard analytical tool as it has undisputedly demonstrated a great potential for trace detection of various analytes. Novel and improved substrates are continuously reported in this regard. It is generally believed that plasmonic nanostructures with plasmon resonances close to the excitation wavelength (on-resonance) generate stronger SERS enhancements, but this finding is still under debate. In the current paper, we compared off-resonance gold nanobones (GNBs) with on-resonance GNBs and gold nanorods (GNRs) in both colloidal dispersion and as close-packed films self-assembled at liquid-liquid interface. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was used as a Raman reporter in order to evaluate SERS performances. A 17-, 18-, and 55-fold increase in the Raman signal was observed for nanostructures (off-resonance GNBs, on-resonance GNBs, and on-resonance GNRs, respectively) assembled at liquid-liquid interface compared to the same nanostructures in colloidal dispersion. SERS performances of off-resonance GNBs were superior to on-resonance nanostructures in both cases. Furthermore, when off-resonance GNBs were assembled at the liquid interface, a relative standard deviation of 4.56% of the recorded signal intensity and a limit of detection (LOD) of 5 × 10−9 M could be obtained for R6G, rendering this substrate suitable for analytical applications.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Affi Nur Hidayah ◽  
Djoko Triyono ◽  
Yuliati Herbani ◽  
Rosari Saleh

Deltamethrin pesticides can cause inflammation, nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity as well as affect the activity of antioxidant enzymes in tissues. As a result of this concern, there is a rising focus on the development of fast and reliable pesticide residue testing to minimise potential risks to humans. The goal of this study is to use Au-Ag colloid nanoparticles as liquid surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to improve the Raman signal in the detection of deltamethrin pesticide in a brewed tea. The liquid SERS system is fascinating to study due to its ease of use and its unlikeliness to cause several phenomena, such as photo-bleaching, combustion, sublimation and even photo-catalysis, which can interfere with the Raman signal, as shown in the SERS substrate. Our liquid SERS system is simpler than previous liquid SERS systems that have been reported. We performed the detection of pesticide analyte directly on brewed tea, without diluting it with ethanol or centrifuging it. Femtosecond laser-induced photo-reduction was employed to synthesise the liquid SERS of Au, Au-Ag, and Ag colloidal nanoparticles. The SERS was utilised to detect deltamethrin pesticide in brewed tea. The result showed that liquid SERS-based Ag NPs significantly enhance the Raman signal of pesticides compared with liquid SERS-based Au NPs and Au-Ag Nanoalloys. The maximum residue limits (MRLs) in tea in Indonesia are set at 10 ppm. Therefore, this method was also utilised to detect and improve, to 0.01 ppm, the deltamethrin pesticide Limit of Detection (LOD).


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 4423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Pyrak ◽  
Jan Krajczewski ◽  
Artur Kowalik ◽  
Andrzej Kudelski ◽  
Aleksandra Jaworska

A sensitive and accurate identification of specific DNA fragments (usually containing a mutation) can influence clinical decisions. Standard methods routinely used for this type of detection are PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction, and its modifications), and, less commonly, NGS (Next Generation Sequencing). However, these methods are quite complicated, requiring time-consuming, multi-stage sample preparation, and specially trained staff. Usually, it takes weeks for patients to obtain their results. Therefore, different DNA sensors are being intensively developed by many groups. One technique often used to obtain an analytical signal from DNA sensors is Raman spectroscopy. Its modification, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), is especially useful for practical analytical applications due to its extra low limit of detection. SERS takes advantage of the strong increase in the efficiency of Raman signal generation caused by a local electric field enhancement near plasmonic (typically gold and silver) nanostructures. In this condensed review, we describe the most important types of SERS-based nanosensors for genetic studies and comment on their potential for becoming diagnostic tools.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario D’Acunto

In the last decade, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) met increasing interest in the detection of chemical and biological agents due to its rapid performance and ultra-sensitive features. Being SERS a combination of Raman spectroscopy and nanotechnology, it includes the advantages of Raman spectroscopy, providing rapid spectra collection, small sample sizes, characteristic spectral fingerprints for specific analytes. In addition, SERS overcomes low sensitivity or fluorescence interference that represents two major drawbacks of traditional Raman spectroscopy. Nanoscale roughened metal surfaces tremendously enhance the weak Raman signal due to electromagnetic field enhancement generated by localized surface plasmon resonances. In this paper, we detected label-free SERS signals for arbitrarily configurations of dimers, trimers, etc., composed of gold nanoshells (AuNSs) and applied to the mapping of osteosarcoma intracellular components. The experimental results combined to a theoretical model computation of SERS signal of specific AuNSs configurations, based on open cavity plasmonics, give the possibility to quantify SERS enhancement for overcoming spectral fluctuations. The results show that the Raman signal is locally enhanced inside the cell by AuNSs uptake and correspondent geometrical configuration generating dimers are able to enhance locally electromagnetic fields. The SERS signals inside such regions permit the unequivocal identification of cancer-specific biochemical components such as hydroxyapatite, phenylalanine, and protein denaturation due to disulfide bonds breaking between cysteine links or proline.


2021 ◽  
Vol 189 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Wiercigroch ◽  
Pawel Swit ◽  
Agnieszka Brzozka ◽  
Łukasz Pięta ◽  
Kamilla Malek

Abstract The design of a sandwich-type SERS immunoassay (surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy) is demonstrated operating in dual surface enhancement and dual-tag paradigm. The capture and detection antibodies are linked to two SERS-active substrates and form together the three-dimensional (3D) structure after specific binding to interleukin 6. A variety of metal combinations is tested (Au–Ag, Au–Au, and Ag–Ag), but an enhanced electromagnetic field is generated only due to coupling of Ag and Au nanoparticles with an Au hexagonal nanoarray. The amplified in that way Raman signals improve the limit of detection over 3 times in comparison to the assay with only one SERS-active substrate. It is also shown that the proper readout of the true-positive signal can be achieved in assays with two Raman tags, and this approach also improves LOD. For the optimal combination of the metal–metal junction and Raman tags, a linear relationship between the Raman signal and the concentration of IL-6 is obtained in the range 0–1000 pg⋅mL−1with LOD of 25.2 pg mL−1and RSD < 10%. The presented proof-of-concept of the SERS immunoassay with the dual-enhancement and dual-tag opens additional opportunities for engineering reliable SERS biosensing. Graphical abstract


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 4716
Author(s):  
Marcelo Coelho Silva ◽  
Jeancarlo Pereira dos Anjos ◽  
Lilian Lefol Nani Guarieiro ◽  
Bruna A. Souza Machado

There are a significant number of analytical methodologies employing different techniques to determine phenolic compounds in beverages. However, these methods employ long sample preparation processes and great time consumption. The aim of this paper was the development of a simple method for evaluating the phenolic compounds’ presence in Brazilian craft beers without a previous extraction step. Catechin, caffeic acid, epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, hydrated rutin, trans-ferulic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, and formononetin were analyzed in fifteen different craft beers. The method showed good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9966). The limit of detection ranged from 0.08 to 0.83 mg L−1, and limits of quantification were between 0.27 and 2.78 mg L−1. The method showed a satisfactory precision (RSD ≤ 16.2%). A good accuracy was obtained by the proposed method for all phenolic compounds in craft beer (68.6% ˂ accuracy ˂ 112%). Catechin showed higher concentrations (up to 124.8 mg L−1) in the samples, followed by epicatechin (up to 51.1 mg L−1) and caffeic acid (up to 8.13 mg L−1). Rutin and formononetin were observed in all analyzed samples (0.52 mg L−1 to 2.40 mg L−1), and kaempferol was less present in the samples. The presence of plant origin products was determinant for the occurrence of the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds in Brazilian craft beers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon D. Dryden ◽  
Salzitsa Anastasova ◽  
Giovanni Satta ◽  
Alex J. Thompson ◽  
Daniel R. Leff ◽  
...  

AbstractUrinary tract infection is one of the most common bacterial infections leading to increased morbidity, mortality and societal costs. Current diagnostics exacerbate this problem due to an inability to provide timely pathogen identification. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has the potential to overcome these issues by providing immediate bacterial classification. To date, achieving accurate classification has required technically complicated processes to capture pathogens, which has precluded the integration of SERS into rapid diagnostics. This work demonstrates that gold-coated membrane filters capture and aggregate bacteria, separating them from urine, while also providing Raman signal enhancement. An optimal gold coating thickness of 50 nm was demonstrated, and the diagnostic performance of the SERS-active filters was assessed using phantom urine infection samples at clinically relevant concentrations (105 CFU/ml). Infected and uninfected (control) samples were identified with an accuracy of 91.1%. Amongst infected samples only, classification of three bacteria (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae) was achieved at a rate of 91.6%.


Biosensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Donggee Rho ◽  
Seunghyun Kim

An optical cavity-based biosensor (OCB) has been developed for point-of-care (POC) applications. This label-free biosensor employs low-cost components and simple fabrication processes to lower the overall cost while achieving high sensitivity using a differential detection method. To experimentally demonstrate its limit of detection (LOD), we conducted biosensing experiments with streptavidin and C-reactive protein (CRP). The optical cavity structure was optimized further for better sensitivity and easier fluid control. We utilized the polymer swelling property to fine-tune the optical cavity width, which significantly improved the success rate to produce measurable samples. Four different concentrations of streptavidin were tested in triplicate, and the LOD of the OCB was determined to be 1.35 nM. The OCB also successfully detected three different concentrations of human CRP using biotinylated CRP antibody. The LOD for CRP detection was 377 pM. All measurements were done using a small sample volume of 15 µL within 30 min. By reducing the sensing area, improving the functionalization and passivation processes, and increasing the sample volume, the LOD of the OCB are estimated to be reduced further to the femto-molar range. Overall, the demonstrated capability of the OCB in the present work shows great potential to be used as a promising POC biosensor.


Author(s):  
Franziska Beck ◽  
Carina Horn ◽  
Antje J. Baeumner

AbstractElectrochemical immunosensors enable rapid analyte quantification in small sample volumes, and have been demonstrated to provide high sensitivity and selectivity, simple miniaturization, and easy sensor production strategies. As a point-of-care (POC) format, user-friendliness is equally important and most often not combinable with high sensitivity. As such, we demonstrate here that a sequence of metal oxidation and reduction, followed by stripping via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), provides lowest limits of detection within a 2-min automatic measurement. In exchanging gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which dominate in the development of POC sensors, with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), not only better sensitivity was obtained, but more importantly, the assay protocol could be simplified to match POC requirements. Specifically, we studied both nanoparticles as reporter labels in a sandwich immunoassay with the blood protein biomarker NT-proBNP. For both kinds of nanoparticles, the dose-response curves easily covered the ng∙mL−1 range. The mean standard deviation of all measurements of 17% (n ≥ 4) and a limit of detection of 26 ng∙mL−1 were achieved using AuNPs, but their detection requires addition of HCl, which is impossible in a POC format. In contrast, since AgNPs are electrochemically less stable, they enabled a simplified assay protocol and provided even lower LODs of 4.0 ng∙mL−1 in buffer and 4.7 ng∙mL−1 in human serum while maintaining the same or even better assay reliability, storage stability, and easy antibody immobilization protocols. Thus, in direct comparison, AgNPs clearly outperform AuNPs in desirable POC electrochemical assays and should gain much more attention in the future development of such biosensors.


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