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Updated: May 31, 2026
Label-Free Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Bioanalysis Based on Au@Carbon Dot Nanoprobes
Published on: June 9, 2023
Minimally invasive surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection with depth profiles based on a surface-enhanced Raman
Jian Dong1, Qingfeng Chen, Chunhui Rong
1State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, Nanjing, China. dongjian@seu.edu.cn
Abstract:
To obtain depth profiles of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) information in living systems, a SERS-active needle was structured by acupuncture needles, gold nanoshells (GNSs), and polystyrene, which were used as carriers, SERS-active elements to be absorbed on the carriers, and coatings to protect the absorbed GNSs from being erased during insertion, respectively. The SERS-active needle is minimally invasive for entering and exiting the body. The interspaces between the GNSs became vessels to collect diffused fluids at different depths after a SERS-active needle was inserted into an agarose gel, and the SERS intensity profile on the SERS-active needle coincided with the concentration profile of Nile Blue A (NBA) in the gel. SERS detection in vitro avoided the signal attenuation in gels, and the SERS detection at different spots of the SERS-active needle provided a depth profile of the NBA molecule in the gel. In vivo experiments of NBA and 6-mercaptopurine confirmed that the SERS-active needle could collect fluids in living systems easily with minimal invasion and provide information about depth profiles of target molecules in tissues.
