Plasmonic Nanotrough Networks for Scalable Bacterial Raman Biosensing

Area of Science:

• Nanomaterials Science
• Biosensing Technology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers high sensitivity for molecular detection.
• Developing scalable and reproducible SERS substrates remains a challenge for practical applications.
• Single bacterial detection requires SERS substrates with high specificity and sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel, scalable fabrication method for silver cylindrical nanotrough network (CNN) SERS substrates.
• To investigate the SERS performance of these substrates for single bacterial detection and discrimination.
• To establish a cost-effective and environmentally friendly SERS platform for rapid biochemical screening.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of cellulose nanofiber templates via electrospinning.
• Deposition of silver onto templates followed by core removal to form Ag CNNs.
• Characterization of scattering properties and SERS performance of Ag nanotroughs and networks.
• Principal component analysis (PCA) for bacterial spectral discrimination.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated tunable Ag CNNs with enhanced SERS intensities.
• Achieved reproducible SERS signals for molecular monolayers and whole bacterial cells.
• Demonstrated rapid spectral discrimination between different strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) using PCA.
• Validated the cost-effectiveness and scalability of the fabrication process.

Conclusions:

• The developed Ag CNN SERS substrates provide a promising platform for sensitive and selective single bacterial biosensing.
• The scalable and environmentally friendly fabrication method offers advantages over conventional SERS substrates.
• This approach enables rapid detection and screening of biochemicals and bacterial strains.