Polymer-based microfluidics with surface-enhanced Raman-spectroscopy-active periodic metal nanostructures for...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Microfluidics offers cost-effective biofluid analysis for disease diagnosis.
• Conventional microfluidic designs can be complex due to separation elements for molecular detection.
• Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) allows direct analyte identification from complex samples, simplifying design and reducing costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a more stable SERS-based microfluidic system for biofluid analysis.
• To overcome the limitations of existing SERS microfluidics regarding sample ionic strength variations.
• To simplify microfluidic design and reduce costs in disease diagnostics.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of periodic SERS-active metal nanostructures directly within microchannels using spin coating.
• Utilizing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for direct molecular identification.
• Testing the microfluidic system with artificial and human urine samples.

Main Results:

• The proposed microfluidic design demonstrates enhanced stability against variations in sample ionic strength.
• Previous SERS-based microfluidic systems showed instability with changes in salt content.
• The spin-coating fabrication method simplifies the integration of SERS-active nanostructures.

Conclusions:

• The novel microfluidic design offers improved robustness for SERS biofluid analysis.
• This approach simplifies microfluidic device fabrication and enhances diagnostic capabilities.
• The developed system presents a promising, stable, and cost-effective tool for disease diagnosis.