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Spectral effects and enhancement quantification in healthy human saliva with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Esmat Zamani1,2, Nassim Ksantini1,2, Guillaume Sheehy1,2
1Department of Engineering Physics, Polytechnique Montreal, Montréal, Canada.
Lasers in Surgery and Medicine
|December 11, 2023
Summary
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) significantly improves diagnostic potential for biofluids like saliva. SERS offers enhanced spectral quality and faster imaging, paving the way for real-time diagnostic tools.
Area of Science:
- Biophotonics
- Spectroscopy
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Raman spectroscopy for biofluid analysis is hindered by low signal and high fluorescence.
- Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) offers a potential solution by amplifying Raman signals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the plasmonic enhancement effect of SERS on human saliva.
- To quantify spectral quality improvements using SERS compared to spontaneous Raman spectroscopy.
Main Methods:
- Human saliva samples were analyzed using spontaneous Raman spectroscopy and SERS.
- Silver nanopillar substrates were fabricated using glancing angle deposition.
- Quantitative metrics including quality factor (QF), photonic count rate (PR), and signal-to-background ratio (SBR) were used for comparison.
Main Results:
- SERS measurements showed improved QF and PR (over 10x higher) and a 2x larger SBR compared to spontaneous Raman spectroscopy.
- SERS enhancement factors reached up to 100x.
- Measurements were performed with significantly lower excitation energy for SERS.
Conclusions:
- Single-point SERS measurements on dried saliva with silver nanopillars are reproducible.
- SERS shows promise for developing real-time diagnostic tools for human biofluids.
