Systematic Optimization of Universal Real-Time Hypersensitive Fast Detection Method for HBsAg in Serum Based on SERS.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, with HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) being a crucial marker in the clinical detection of HBV. Due to the significant harm and ease of transmission associated with HBV, HBsAg testing has become an essential part of preoperative assessments, particularly for emergency surgeries where healthcare professionals face exposure risks. Therefore, a timely and accurate detection method for HBsAg is urgently needed. In this study, a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor with a sandwich structure was developed for HBsAg detection. Leveraging the ultrasensitive and rapid detection capabilities of SERS, this sensor enables quick detection results, significantly reducing waiting times. By systematically optimizing critical factors in the detection process, such as the composition and concentration of the incubation solution as well as the modification conditions and amount of probe particles, the sensitivity of the SERS immune assay system was improved. Ultimately, the sensor achieved a sensitivity of 0.00576 IU/mL within 12 min, surpassing the clinical requirement of 0.05 IU/mL by an order of magnitude. In clinical serum assay validation, the issue of false positives was effectively addressed by adding a blocker. The final sensor demonstrated 100% specificity and sensitivity at the threshold of 0.05 IU/mL. Therefore, this study not only designed an ultrasensitive SERS sensor for detecting HBsAg in actual clinical serum samples but also provided theoretical support for similar systems, filling the knowledge gap in existing literature.

Reliable quantitative detection of uric acid in urine by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with endogenous internal standard.

Abnormal levels of uric acid (UA) in urine serve as warning signs for gout and metabolic cardiovascular diseases, necessitating the monitoring of UA levels for early prevention. However, the current analytical methods employed suffer from limitations in terms of inadequate suitability for home-based applications and the requirement of non-invasive procedures. In this approach, creatinine, a metabolite with a constant excretion rate, was incorporated as an endogenous internal standard (e-IS) for calibration, presenting a rapid, pretreatment-free, and accurate strategy for quantitative determination of UA concentrations. By utilizing urine creatinine as an internal reference value to calibrate the signal fluctuation of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) of UA, the quantitative accuracy can be significantly improved without the need for an external internal standard. Due to the influence of the medium, UA, which carries a negative charge, is selectively adsorbed by Au@Ag nanoparticles functionalized with hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in this system. Furthermore, a highly convenient detection method was developed, which eliminates the need for pre-processing and minimizes matrix interference by simple dilution. The method was applied to the urine detection of different volunteers, and the results were highly consistent with those obtained using the UA colorimetric kit (UACK). The detection time of SERS was only 30 s, which is 50 times faster than UACK. This quantitative strategy of using urinary creatinine as an internal standard to correct the SERS intensity of uric acid is also expected to be extended to the quantitative detection needs of other biomarkers in urine.

SERS-Based Hydrogen Bonding Induction Strategy for Gaseous Acetic Acid Capture and Detection.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can overcome the existing technological limitations, such as complex processes and harsh conditions in gaseous small-molecule detection, and advance the development of real-time gas sensing at room temperature. In this study, a SERS-based hydrogen bonding induction strategy for capturing and sensing gaseous acetic acid is proposed for the detection demands of gaseous acetic acid. This addresses the challenges of low adsorption of gaseous small molecules on SERS substrates and small Raman scattering cross sections and enables the first SERS-based detection of gaseous acetic acid by a portable Raman spectrometer. To provide abundant hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) was used as a ligand molecule modified on the SERS substrate. Furthermore, a sensing chip with a low relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.15% was constructed, ensuring highly sensitive and reliable detection. The hydrogen bond-induced acetic acid trapping was confirmed by experimental spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT). In addition, to achieve superior accuracy compared to conventional methods, an innovative analytical method based on direct response hydrogen bond formation (IO-H/Iref) was proposed, enabling the detection of gaseous acetic acid at concentrations as low as 60 ppb. The strategy demonstrated a superior anti-interference capability in simulated breath and wine detection systems. Moreover, the high reusability of the chip highlights the significant potential for real-time sensing of gaseous acetic acid.

Ultrasensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 S protein with aptamers biosensor based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

A rapid and accurate diagnostic modality is essential to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we proposed a SARS-CoV-2 detection sensor based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to achieve rapid and ultrasensitive detection. The sensor utilized spike protein deoxyribonucleic acid aptamers with strong affinity as the recognition entity to achieve high specificity. The spherical cocktail aptamers-gold nanoparticles (SCAP) SERS substrate was used as the base and Au nanoparticles modified with the Raman reporter molecule that resonates with the excitation light and spike protein aptamers were used as the SERS nanoprobe. The SCAP substrate and SERS nanoprobes were used to target and capture the SARS-CoV-2 S protein to form a sandwich structure on the Au film substrate, which can generate ultra-strong "hot spots" to achieve ultrasensitive detection. Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 S protein was performed by monitoring changes in SERS peak intensity on a SCAP SERS substrate-based detection platform. This assay detects S protein with a LOD of less than 0.7 fg mL-1 and pseudovirus as low as 0.8 TU mL-1 in about 12 min. The results of the simulated oropharyngeal swab system in this study indicated the possibility of it being used for clinical detection, providing a potential option for rapid and accurate diagnosis and more effective control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Self-sustainable and recyclable ternary Au@Cu2O-Ag nanocomposites: application in ultrasensitive SERS detection and highly efficient photocatalysis of organic dyes under visible light.

Ternary noble metal-semiconductor nanocomposites (NCs) with core-shell-satellite nanostructures have received widespread attention due to their outstanding performance in detecting pollutants through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and photodegradation of organic pollutants. In this work, ternary Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs were designed and prepared by a galvanic replacement method. The effect of different amounts of Ag nanocrystals adsorbed on the surfaces of Au@Cu2O on the SERS activity was investigated based on the SERS detection of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) reporter molecules. Based on electromagnetic field simulations and photoluminescence (PL) results, a possible SERS enhancement mechanism was proposed and discussed. Moreover, Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs served as SERS substrates, and highly sensitive SERS detection of malachite green (MG) with a detection limit as low as 10-9 M was achieved. In addition, Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs were recycled due to their superior self-cleaning ability and could catalyze the degradation of MG driven by visible light. This work demonstrates a wide range of possibilities for the integration of recyclable SERS detection and photodegradation of organic dyes and promotes the development of green testing techniques.

Highly efficient and recyclable catalyst: porous Fe3O4-Au magnetic nanocomposites with tailored synthesis.

In this work, we reported the tailored design of highly efficient Fe3O4-Au magnetic nanocomposite (MNP) catalysts. Fe3O4 nanocrystals with three different morphologies have been developed with engineered amounts of urea, and the plausible mechanism has been proposed. Then by controlling the amount of Au seeds, Fe3O4-Au MNPs with different morphologies and tunable Au deposition have been realized. Characterizations including x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Mössbauer spectra, and elemental mapping are implemented to unveil the structural and physical characteristics of the successfully developed Fe3O4-Au MNPs with different morphologies. The catalytic ability of Fe3O4-Au MNPs with different morphologies have been compared by applying them to degrading RhB and 4-NP, meanwhile the correlation between the amount of Au seeds and the turnover frequency as well as the catalytic ability of Fe3O4-Au MNPs is investigated systematically. We found that the flower-like Fe3O4-Au MNPs with 20 ml Au seeds added achieved the best degradation efficiency of 96.7%, and their catalytic ability were almost unchanged after recycling. Out study sheds the light into the tailored design of highly efficient and recyclable catalysts for RhB and 4-NP.

A Novel Au@Cu2O-Ag Ternary Nanocomposite with Highly Efficient Catalytic Performance: Towards Rapid Reduction of Methyl Orange Under Dark Condition.

Au@Cu2O core-shell nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized by reducing copper nitrate on Au colloids with hydrazine. The thickness of the Cu2O shells could be varied by adjusting the molar ratios of Au: Cu. The results showed that the thickness of Cu2O shells played a crucial role in the catalytic activity of Au@Cu2O NCs under dark condition. The Au@Cu2O-Ag ternary NCs were further prepared by a simple galvanic replacement reaction method. Moreover, the surface features were revealed by TEM, XRD, XPS, and UV-Vis techniques. Compared with Au@Cu2O NCs, the ternary Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs had an excellent catalytic performance. The degradation of methyl orange (MO) catalyzed by Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs was achieved within 4 min. The mechanism study proved that the synergistic effects of Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs and sodium borohydride facilitated the degradation of MO. Hence, the designed Au@Cu2O-Ag NCs with high catalytic efficiency and good stability are expected to be the ideal environmental nanocatalysts for the degradation of dye pollutants in wastewater.

Facile synthesis of Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposite as a recyclable magnetic surface enhanced Raman scattering substrate for thiram detection.

The Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites, as the multifunctional magnetic surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates, were fabricated successfully by the seeds growth method based on the Fe3O4-Au core-satellite nanocomposites. The SERS properties of the Fe3O4-Au core-satellite nanocomposites and the Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites were compared using 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as the probe molecule. It was found that Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites showed better SERS performance than Fe3O4-Au core-satellite nanocomposites. The Au shell provided an effectively large surface area for forming sufficient plasmonic hot spots and capturing target molecules. The integration of magnetic core and plasmonic Au nanocrystals endowed the Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites with highly efficient magnetic separation and enrichment ability and abundant interparticle hot spots. The Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites could be easily recycled because of the intrinsic magnetism of the Fe3O4 cores and had good reproducibility of the SERS signals. For practical application, the Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites were also used to detect thiram. There was a good linear relationship between the SERS signal intensity and the concentration of thiram from 1 × 10-3 to 1 × 10-8 M and the limit of detection was 7.69 × 10-9 M. Moreover, residual thiram on apple peel was extracted and detected with a recovery rate range of 99.3%. The resulting substrate with high SERS activity, stability and strong magnetic responsivity makes the Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanocomposites a perfect choice for practical SERS detection applications.