Abstract
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a promising analytical technique for the detection and characterization of biological molecules and structures. The role of hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces in the self-assembly of protein-metallic nanoparticle structures for label-free protein detection is demonstrated. Aggregation is driven by both the hydrophobicity of the surface as well as the charge of the proteins. The best conditions for obtaining a reproducible SERS signal that allows for sensitive, label-free protein detection are provided by the use of hydrophobic surfaces and 16 × 1011 NPs per mL. A detection limit of approximately 0.5 μg mL-1 is achieved regardless of the proteins' charge properties and size. The developed method is simple and can be used for reproducible and sensitive detection and characterization of a wide variety of biological molecules and various structures with different sizes and charge status.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2906-2913 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Analyst |
Volume | 138 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 21 2013 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- Spectroscopy
- Electrochemistry
- Biochemistry
- Environmental Chemistry
- Medicine(all)