Nanostructure-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering biosensors for nucleic acids and proteins

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Detection of nucleic acid and protein biomarkers is crucial for human health and safety.
• Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers high sensitivity and specific spectral fingerprints for biomarker detection.
• Nanomaterials significantly enhance the performance of SERS-based biosensing platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the development of nanostructure-based SERS-active substrates and SERS nanotags.
• To summarize recent advancements in SERS biosensors for detecting DNA, microRNA, and proteins.
• To discuss the prospects and challenges of nanostructure-based SERS biosensors for biomedical applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on nanostructure-based SERS substrates and nanotags.
• Analysis of recent studies on SERS biosensors for nucleic acid and protein detection.
• Exploration of SERS applications including label-free, labeled, multiplex analyses, and in vivo imaging.

Main Results:

• Nanostructure engineering is key to improving SERS biosensor sensitivity and specificity.
• SERS biosensors have demonstrated significant progress in detecting various biomarkers like DNA, microRNA, and proteins.
• Applications extend to label-free detection, multiplexed analysis, and in vivo imaging with high precision.

Conclusions:

• Nanostructure-based SERS biosensors are powerful tools for sensitive and specific biomarker detection.
• Continued development in SERS substrates and nanotags will further advance biosensing capabilities.
• Addressing current challenges is essential for the clinical translation and widespread adoption of SERS biosensors.