posted on 2021-11-30, 15:17authored byHee-Kyung Na, Jisun Ki, Minh-Uyen Le, Kyoung-Shim Kim, Chul-Ho Lee, Tae Geol Lee, Jung-Sub Wi
Biomolecule detection based on surface-enhanced
Raman scattering
(SERS) for application to biosensors and bio-imaging requires the
fabrication of SERS nanoprobes that can generate strong Raman signals
as well as surface modifications for analyte-specific recognition
and binding. Such requirements lead to disadvantages in terms of reproducibility
and practicality, and thus, it has been difficult to apply biomolecule
detection utilizing the advantages of the SERS phenomenon to actual
clinically relevant analysis. To achieve reproducible and practical
SERS signal generation in a biomolecule-specific manner without requiring
the synthesis of nanostructures and their related surface modification
to introduce molecules for specific recognition, we developed a new
type of SERS probe formed by enzyme reactions in the presence of Raman
reporters. By forming unique plasmonic structures, our method achieves
the detection of biomolecules on chips with uniform and stable signals
over long periods. To test the proposed approach, we applied it to
a SERS-based immunohistochemistry assay and found successful multiplexed
protein detection in brain tissue from transgenic mice.