Issue 17, 2016

Silver colloids as plasmonic substrates for direct label-free surface-enhanced Raman scattering analysis of DNA

Abstract

Ultrasensitive direct SERS analysis offers a powerful analytical tool for the structural characterization and classification of nucleic acids. However, acquisition of reliable spectral fingerprints of such complex biomolecules poses important challenges. In recent years, many efforts have been devoted to overcome these limitations, mainly implementing silver colloids as plasmonic substrates. However, a reliable cross-comparison of results reported in the recent literature is extremely hard to achieve, mostly due to the broad set of different surface properties of the plasmonic nanoparticles. Herein, we perform a thorough investigation of the role played by the metal/liquid interface composition of silver colloids in the direct label-free SERS analysis of DNA. Target molecules of increasing complexity, from short homopolymeric strands to long genomic duplexes, were used as probes. We demonstrate how apparently subtle changes in the colloidal surface chemistry can dramatically modify the affinity and the final SERS spectral profile of DNA. This has significant implications for the future design of new analytical strategies for the detection of DNA using SERS without labels.

Graphical abstract: Silver colloids as plasmonic substrates for direct label-free surface-enhanced Raman scattering analysis of DNA

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 ኤፕሪ 2016
Accepted
12 ሜይ 2016
First published
12 ሜይ 2016

Analyst, 2016,141, 5170-5180

Silver colloids as plasmonic substrates for direct label-free surface-enhanced Raman scattering analysis of DNA

A. Torres-Nuñez, K. Faulds, D. Graham, R. A. Alvarez-Puebla and L. Guerrini, Analyst, 2016, 141, 5170 DOI: 10.1039/C6AN00911E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements