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Surface Chemistry-Driven Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Fingerprinting of Aptamers on Silver Colloids
Sara Pandolfi1, Elisabetta Venuti1, Erica Locatelli1
1Department of Industrial Chemistry "Toso Montanari", University of Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 85, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
ACS Applied Optical Materials
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of nucleic acids (NAs) depends heavily on the plasmonic substrate. This study reveals how silver nanoparticle surface chemistry influences aptamer SERS spectra, impacting structural and adsorption insights.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biophysical Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is sensitive to molecular structure and orientation.
- Nucleic acids (NAs), particularly aptamers, present complex structures for SERS analysis.
- Limited comparative studies exist on SERS across common plasmonic substrates for complex NAs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the direct SERS fingerprinting of a thiolated aptamer.
- To compare SERS spectra across three distinct silver colloidal systems.
- To understand the influence of substrate surface chemistry on NA adsorption and SERS response.
Main Methods:
- SERS analysis of a thiolated aptamer.
- Utilized three silver colloidal systems: intrinsically cationic, post-synthetically modified, and chloride-modified.
- Investigated adsorption regimes and spectral variations.
Main Results:
- Surface chemistry dictates the dominant adsorption regime, balancing electrostatic and nucleobase-metal interactions.
- Intrinsically cationic nanoparticles maintain folding-dependent spectral features.
- Negatively charged systems show coverage-dependent spectral variability.
Conclusions:
- The SERS fingerprint of aptamers is an interplay between NA structure and substrate-imposed adsorption.
- Substrate surface chemistry significantly modulates SERS response and spectral information.
- Different colloidal substrates offer complementary spectroscopic insights into NA structure and binding.
