Handcrafted silver substrates boost surface plasmon resonance for ultra-sensitive lipid analysis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Analytical chemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Lipid monitoring is vital for cardiovascular health, metabolic disorders, and nutrition.
• High SERS background noise complicates sensitive lipid detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a SERS platform for quantitative lipid analysis.
• To overcome challenges in sensitive lipid detection in complex biological samples.

Main Methods:

• Utilized nanostructured grooves and deuterium oxide to enhance Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) signals.
• Employed characteristic peak analysis and PCA-LDA for lipid identification in mixed systems.
• Demonstrated reproducibility with silver substrates over 10 repetitions.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average enhancement factor of 7.3 × 10⁵ and a detection limit of 1.9 × 10⁻⁴ mg/mL for cholesterol.
• Obtained high-quality in-situ SERS signals for six distinct lipid molecules.
• Successfully monitored in-situ cholesterol in human serum using deuterium water as an internal standard.

Conclusions:

• The SERS platform offers high sensitivity, specificity, and cost-effectiveness for lipid detection.
• Enables improved dietary management and blood lipid monitoring.
• Holds significant implications for the early prevention of lipid-related disorders.