Examining metal nanoparticle surface chemistry using hollow-core, photonic-crystal, fiber-assisted SERS

In this Letter, we demonstrate the efficacy of hollow core photonic crystal fibers (HCPCFs) as a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) platform for investigating the ligand exchange process on the surface of gold nanoparticles. Raman measurements carried out using this platform show the capability to monitor minute amounts of surface ligands on gold nanoparticles used as an SERS substrate. The SERS signal from an HCPCF exhibits a tenfold enhancement compared to that in a direct sampling scheme using a cuvette. Using exchange of cytotoxic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide with α-methoxy-ω-mercaptopoly(ethylene glycol) on the surface of gold nanorods as an exemplary system, we show the feasibility of using HCPCF SERS to monitor the change in surface chemistry of nanoparticles.