Template Stripping Method-Based Au Nanoarray for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection of Antiepileptic Drug

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a potential candidate for highly sensitive detection of target molecules. A SERS active substrate with a noble metal nanostructure is required for this. However, a SERS active substrate requires complicated fabrication procedures. This in turn makes it difficult to fabricate highly sensitive SERS active substrates with high reproducibility. To overcome this difficulty, a plasmonic crystal (PC) with periodic noble metal nanostructures was fabricated via the template-stripping method using a polymer-based template. Using SERS active substrates, SERS was successfully achieved using the PC by detecting low concentrations of phenobarbital which is an antiepileptic drug using a commercially available portable Raman module. The PC can be fabricated by demolding the deposited gold layer from a polymer-based template. This method is rapid, economic, and has high reproducibility. SERS can be achieved easily using this PC for a wide variety of applications such as medical, pharmaceutical, and environmental protection.