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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Label-free Single Molecule Detection Using Microtoroid Optical Resonators
Published on: December 29, 2015
Porous substrates for label-free molecular level detection of nonresonant organic molecules
Hyunhyub Ko1, Sehoon Chang, Vladimir V Tsukruk
1School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Polymer, Textile, and Fiber Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
Abstract:
We report on the design of practical surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based upon 3D alumina membranes with cylindrical nanopores chemically modified with polyelectrolyte coating and loaded with gold nanoparticle clusters. These substrates allow for a molecular-level, label-free detection of common plastic explosive materials (TNT, DNT) down to 5-10 zeptograms or 15-30 molecules and a common liquid explosive (HMTD) down to 1 picogram. Such a sensitive detection of organic molecules by utilizing efficient SERS substrates opens the path for affordable and label-free detection of trace amount of practically important chemical compounds.
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