Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 12, 2025
06:42
Plasmonic Photothermal Cancer Therapy: Nanoparticle-embedded Tumor-tissue-mimicking Phantoms for Visualizing Photothermal Temperature Distribution
Published on: May 9, 2025
931
3D-printed phantoms for characterizing SERS nanoparticle detectability in turbid media
Andrew M Fales1, Pietro Strobbia, Tuan Vo-Dinh
1Division of Biomedical Physics, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland 20993, USA. andrew.fales@fda.hhs.gov.
The Analyst
|August 9, 2020
Summary
Developing 3D-printed phantoms helps evaluate surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags for in vivo use. These phantoms reveal that SERS tag intensity in solution doesn't always predict performance in complex biological tissues.
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics and Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Optics
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags offer high sensitivity and molecular specificity for in vivo applications like tumor detection.
- SERS tag performance is influenced by particle enhancement factor, optical system geometry, and throughput.
- Objective testing methods are crucial for translating SERS technology into clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and utilize 3D-printed phantoms with tunable optical properties for evaluating SERS tag detectability under realistic conditions.
- To assess the impact of channel depth and SERS tag concentration on detectability in a tissue-mimicking phantom.
- To compare the performance of different SERS tags (nanorods and nanostars) in a phantom model.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of 3D-printed phantoms with embedded channels at varying depths to simulate biological tissue.
- Evaluation of three SERS tags (two commercial gold nanorod-based, one in-house silver-coated gold nanostar-based) using 785 nm laser excitation.
- Measurement of SERS tag detectability within the phantoms at different depths and concentrations.
Main Results:
- SERS tag detectability in the turbid phantom medium was not always correlated with SERS intensity measured in solution.
- Channel depth and SERS tag concentration significantly affected the measured signal and detectability.
- The study highlighted discrepancies between in vitro SERS intensity and in vivo phantom performance.
Conclusions:
- 3D-printed phantoms provide a valuable tool for objectively assessing SERS tag performance in biologically relevant optical conditions.
- Phantom-based testing is essential for optimizing SERS tags and instruments for clinical translation, moving beyond simple solution-based intensity measurements.
- This work facilitates the development and selection of SERS tags and systems for reliable in vivo diagnostic and imaging applications.
