SERS-based nanostrategy for rapid anemia diagnosis

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Iron detection is crucial for diagnosing blood disorders and biological dysfunctions.
• Current anemia detection methods require pre-treated samples, potentially altering iron levels.
• There is a need for sensitive, specific, and real-time detection methods for clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, highly sensitive, and specific method for real-time blood iron detection.
• To utilize nanotechnology combined with iron-cyanide chemistry for whole blood analysis.
• To provide an affordable and practical approach for commercial clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A novel strategy combining iron-cyanide chemistry with nanotechnology was employed.
• Organic cyanide-modified silver nanoparticles (cAgNPs) were synthesized.
• The detection system integrated UV-visible spectroscopy with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).

Main Results:

• The cAgNPs selectively detected Fe3+ ions and hemoglobin (Hb) with ultrahigh sensitivity.
• Detection limits were as low as 10 fM for Fe3+ and 0.46 μg mL-1 for Hb.
• The method demonstrated robustness against interfering species in complex biological fluids and clinical potential in anemia patients.

Conclusions:

• The developed SERS-based method offers a sensitive, specific, and pre-treatment-free approach for blood iron quantitation.
• This affordable, quick, and flexible technique is suitable for real-time clinical assays and bulk sample analysis.
• The metal-chelation method has potential applications in tracking therapeutics in biological systems.