Microfluidic-SERS devices for one shot limit-of-detection

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Microfluidics
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Microfluidic platforms offer advantages for low-volume, parallel sample analysis.
• Optical detection methods are commonly employed in microfluidic sensing.
• Developing integrated and flexible sensing platforms remains an area of interest.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a simple microfluidic device for serial dilution and on-chip detection.
• To demonstrate the device's utility with fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).
• To evaluate both inflexible and flexible SERS platforms integrated within the microfluidic device.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a microfluidic device with integrated mixing and serial dilution capabilities.
• On-chip fluorescence detection of analytes.
• On-chip surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection using both traditional substrates and incorporated SERS-active nanoparticles.
• Experimental determination of calibration curves and limits of detection.

Main Results:

• The microfluidic device successfully enabled serial dilution of analyte solutions.
• Both fluorescence and SERS detection were demonstrated on-chip.
• The device facilitated the creation of calibration curves and limit of detection studies in a single experiment.
• Comparable performance was observed with both inflexible and flexible SERS configurations.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic device provides a versatile platform for sensitive analyte detection.
• The integration of flexible SERS materials offers a promising approach for advanced microfluidic sensing.
• This device simplifies experimental workflows for quantitative analysis, including calibration and limit of detection determination.