Issue 27, 2021

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for bioanalysis and diagnosis

Abstract

In recent years, bioanalytical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has blossomed into a fast-growing research area. Owing to its high sensitivity and outstanding multiplexing ability, SERS is an effective analytical technique that has excellent potential in bioanalysis and diagnosis, as demonstrated by its increasing applications in vivo. SERS allows the rapid detection of molecular species based on direct and indirect strategies. Because it benefits from the tunable surface properties of nanostructures, it finds a broad range of applications with clinical relevance, such as biological sensing, drug delivery and live cell imaging assays. Of particular interest are early-stage-cancer detection and the fast detection of pathogens. Here, we present a comprehensive survey of SERS-based assays, from basic considerations to bioanalytical applications. Our main focus is on SERS-based pathogen detection methods as point-of-care solutions for early bacterial infection detection and chronic disease diagnosis. Additionally, various promising in vivo applications of SERS are surveyed. Furthermore, we provide a brief outlook of recent endeavours and we discuss future prospects and limitations for SERS, as a reliable approach for rapid and sensitive bioanalysis and diagnosis.

Graphical abstract: Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for bioanalysis and diagnosis

Associated articles

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
02 feb 2021
Accepted
02 jun 2021
First published
06 jul 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 11593-11634

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for bioanalysis and diagnosis

M. A. Tahir, N. E. Dina, H. Cheng, V. K. Valev and L. Zhang, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 11593 DOI: 10.1039/D1NR00708D

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