Ultrasensitive detection of malondialdehyde with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a biomarker of lipid peroxidation that has been widely associated with food rancidity as well as many human diseases. Most current MDA detection methods involve MDA reaction with thiobarbituric acid (TBA), followed by UV-visible and/or fluorescence detection of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-separated TBA-MDA. Herein, we report the first proof-of-concept study of surface-enhanced Raman detection of a TBA-MDA adduct using silver nanoparticles as the SERS substrate and the 632.8 nm HeNe laser as a Raman excitation source. Current SERS detection limit of TBA-MDA is 0.45 nM, ~100 times higher than the 36 nM fluorescence sensitivity recently reported with the HPLC-purified TBA-MDA. Molecular specificity of the SERS technique was studied by comparing the SERS spectrum of TBA-MDA with those acquired with TBA adducts of other TBA-reactive compounds (TBARCs) that includes formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, butyraldehyde, trans-2-hexenal, and pyrimidine. Compared to TBA and TBA adducts with those TBARCs, the SERS activity of TBA-MDA adduct is significantly higher. The possibility of direct SERS detection of TBA-MDA in a reaction mixture (without HPLC separation) has also been investigated.