Biosensors: Sweet and simple
Thursday, April 14, 2011 - 10:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a highly sensitive and versatile analytical tool that is widely used in biosensing applications. In conventional Raman spectroscopy, molecules are detected by their characteristic scattering of laser light, but the sensitivity of the standard method is relatively low. By detecting the same Raman scattering from molecules adsorbed to rough metal surfaces, however, the sensitivity can be enhanced remarkably, even allowing the detection of single molecules (see image). Unfortunately, the mechanism of this enhancement is not well understood and is strongly dependent on the combination of surface and molecular target.