Functionalized acupuncture needle as a SERS-active platform for rapid and sensitive determination of adenosine triphosphate

Investigation of Melphalan interaction as an alkylating agent with nucleotides by using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)

SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) is a new Raman spectroscopy which relies on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) of metal nanoparticles. We have applied colloidal silver and gold nanoparticles as amplifier agents to enhance nucleotide Raman signals. It is observed that without these enhancing agents, it is impossible to investigate nucleotide spectrum due to weak Raman signals. Interaction mechanism of Melphalan, an anticancer drug with four nucleotides (Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Thymine) was investigated using SERS to detect and identify changes due to alkylating process in Raman spectra. After incubating Melphalan drug with nucleotides for 24 h at 37 °C, some changes occurred in SERS spectrum and interpretation of SERS spectra revealed the influence of the alkyl substitution on peaks and Raman shifts. After incubation of Melphalan with each nucleotide, intensity of relevant SERS signals assigned to Amid III group of Cytosine and Amid I of Thymine decreased significantly, confirming alkylating taking place. In this study, we also investigated the effect of nanoparticles type on nucleotide spectrum. We could not obtain useful information in the cases of guanine nucleotide. The SERS spectrum of Cytosine as an example of nucleotides in aqueous solution compared to solid state and results demonstrated that in solid state better signals were obtained than in liquid state.

An efficient biosensor using a functionalized microneedle of Cu2O-based CoCu-LDH for glucose detection

Glucose detection with small and micro volume sampling has recently received increasing attention in monitoring personal health. Herein, a cauliflower-type cluster of Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) was directly deposited on the tip surface of a stainless steel acupuncture needle electrode (ANE) by electrochemical deposition, and then this pre-formed cuprous basis was used to further prepare the neatly arranged CoCu-layered double hydroxide (CoCu-LDH) nanosheets that interconnected to form nano-sized pores in the range from 100 to 500 nm. The microstructure and spectral characteristics of the surface modification materials were comprehensively characterized by FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, FT-IR and TEM. Cu2O-based CoCu-LDH composites with special morphology had been proven to accelerate the rate of electron transport and provide more available active centers, and moreover, the mixed valence of Cu/Co induced an excellent synergism for the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. As a result, CoCu-LDH/Cu2O/ANE as a sensitive glucose probe exhibited two wider linear ranges of 0.03-0.40 mM and 0.40-6.00 mM, with sensitivities of 116.13 μA mM-1 and 52.08 μA mM-1, respectively, and the detection limit as low as 0.46 μM (S/N = 3). The response time only took 3 s and it kept working stably in the interference of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), uric acid (UA), and Cl-. In the stability test, the CoCu-LDH/Cu2O/ANE sensor exhibited a stable monitoring sensitivity after 15 days. Finally, the CoCu-LDH/Cu2O/ANE sensor had been successfully applied to glucose analysis in human serum, proving that our design was an attractive strategy for developing a portable, minimally invasive, and low-cost non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensing platform.

π-Conjugated Small Organic Molecule-Modified 2D MoS2 with a Charge-Localization Effect Enabling Direct and Sensitive SERS Detection

Organic semiconductors have been discovered to exhibit impressive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity recently. However, owing to the underdeveloped candidate materials and relatively low SERS sensitivity, practical application of SERS detection based on organic materials is still a challenge. Herein, we explored ways to further enhance the SERS sensitivity of π-conjugated fluorinated 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane derivatives (F_nTCNQ, n = 2, 4) by utilizing the charge-localization effect induced by two-dimensional (2D) MoS₂ flakes. A strong Raman signal enhancement in SERS has been realized via an organic/2D heterostructure constructed by F_nTCNQ nanostructures grown on a 2D MoS₂ flake. Moreover, F₂TCNQ and F₄TCNQ show different SESR sensitivities due to different numbers of cyano groups leading to different charge transfer (CT) directions. The SERS enhancement factor (EF) of methylene blue (MB) molecules on the optimal F₄TCNQ/MoS₂ nanocomposite substrate can reach as high as 2.531 × 10⁶, and the concentration of the limit of detection (LOD) is as low as 10^-10 M. The SERS results for MB, rhodamine 6G (R6G), and 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) molecules demonstrate that high versatility, low cost, good stability, and easy preparation will make the F_nTCNQ/MoS₂ SERS platform promising for the detection of trace molecules. The studies on the complex microscopic interaction of organic/2D composite nanomaterials will provide some novel insights into improved SERS performance and mechanisms.

Construction of Ag nanowire@Au nanoparticle nano nests with densely stacked small gaps for actively trapping molecules to realize diversity SERS detection

The SERS detection method based nano nest model actively traps molecules by the capillary action to detect different kinds of molecules, such as pesticide residues, bioenergy substances, antibiotic residues and allergic reactions.

From single cells to complex tissues in applications of surface-enhanced Raman scattering

This tutorial review explores how three of the most common methods for introducing nanoparticles to single cells for surface-enhanced Raman scattering measurements can be adapted for experiments with complex tissues.