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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Three-Dimensional Finger Motion Tracking during Needling: A Solution for the Kinematic Analysis of Acupuncture Manipulation
Published on: October 28, 2021
Functionalized acupuncture needle as a SERS-active platform for rapid and sensitive determination of adenosine
Pan Li1,2, Meihong Ge3, Dongyue Lin3
1Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Center of Medical Physics and Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, Anhui, China. lipan2011@iim.ac.cn.
Abstract:
The development of sensitive and rapid methods for analysis and detection of small molecules is highly desirable for medical diagnostics and therapeutics. We report an acupuncture needle functionalized with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and a macrocyclic amine (MA) Raman tag as the platform to realize the sensitive detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The assembled Au NPs with abundant hot spots on the surface of the needle avoids the aggregation of Au NPs and results in a good signal response. Moreover, there is strong combination between ATP and MA through electrostatic adsorption, hydrogen-bonding interactions, and π-π stacking, and as a consequence, this functionalized needle can be used as a SERS platform for detection of ATP (25 nM) through a decrease of the Raman signal of MA resulting from the high chemical affinity of ATP for MA. Specially, the Au NP/MA-functionalized needle is conveniently used to monitor ATP (100 nM) added to serum, and demonstrates great promise in the study and detection of ATP in a complex sample, laying the foundation for SERS applications in complex acupuncture specimens with fast response and simple operation. Graphical abstract.
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