Plasmonic nanoprobes for SERS biosensing and bioimaging

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Plasmonic nanoprobes offer unique optical properties for sensitive detection.
• Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provides high sensitivity for molecular analysis.
• Current methods face challenges in sensitive and specific disease detection and cellular imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present plasmonic nanoprobes for advanced biosensing and bioimaging.
• To demonstrate the application of SERS gene probes for disease-specific DNA detection.
• To introduce a hyperspectral surface-enhanced Raman imaging (HSERI) system for cellular component identification.

Main Methods:

• Development of plasmonic nanoprobes utilizing silver nanoparticles.
• Application of SERS for DNA hybridization detection of disease-related genes (e.g., HIV, breast cancer).
• Implementation of a HSERI system with Raman dye-labeled nanoparticles for cellular imaging and pH monitoring.

Main Results:

• Successful detection of specific DNA sequences associated with breast cancer using "molecular sentinel" nanoprobes.
• Demonstration of SERS gene probes for detecting target biospecies.
• Successful molecular imaging and pH monitoring in single cells using the HSERI system.

Conclusions:

• Plasmonic nanoprobes are effective tools for sensitive biosensing and high-resolution bioimaging.
• SERS and HSERI technologies enable precise disease detection and cellular analysis.
• The developed nanoprobes and systems hold significant potential for future biomedical applications.