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Highly sensitive SERS detection and quantification of sialic acid on single cell using photonic-crystal fiber with
Tianxun Gong1, Ying Cui2, Douglas Goh3
1School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore; Bio-Optical Imaging Group, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Helios #01-02, 11 Biopolis Way, Singapore 138667, Singapore.
Abstract:
An ultrasensitive surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based sensing platform was developed to detect the mean sialic acid level on the surface of single cell with sensitivity as low as 2 fmol. This platform adopted the use of an interference-free Raman tag, 4-(dihydroxyborophenyl) acetylene (DBA), which selectively binds to sialic acid on the cell membrane. By loading the side channel of a photonic crystal fiber with a mixture of gold nanoparticles and DBA-tagged HeLa cell, and subsequently propagating laser light through the central solid core, strong SERS signal was obtained. This SERS technique achieved accurate detection and quantification of concentration of sialic acid on a single cell, surpassing previously reported methods that required more than 10(5) cells. Moreover, this platform can be developed into a clinical diagnostic tool to potentially analyze sialic acid-related diseases such as tumor malignancy and metastasis in real-time.
