Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains an ongoing
issue worldwide
and continues to disrupt daily life. Transmission of infection primarily
occurs through secretions when in contact with infected individuals,
but more recent evidence has shown that fomites are also a source
of virus transmission, especially in cold-chain logistics. Traditional
nucleic acid testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS-CoV-2) contamination in cold-chain logistics is time-consuming
and inaccurate because of the multiplex sampling sites. Surface-enhanced
Raman spectroscopy (SERS) provides a rapid, sensitive, and label-free
detection route for various molecules, including viruses, through
the identification of the characteristic peaks of their outer membrane
proteins. In this study, we embedded arbitrarily orientated gold nanoplates
(Au NPLs) in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer and used it as
biosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike
protein in cold-chain logistics. This transparent and flexible substrate
can be wrapped onto arbitrary surfaces and permits light penetration
into the underlying contact surface, enabling in situ and point-of-care
SERS diagnostics. The developed assay displayed high reproducibility
(8.7%) and a low detection limit of 6.8 × 10–9 g mL–1, indicating its potential to serve as a
promising approach with increased accuracy and sensitivity for the
detection of the S protein.
The identification of biomacromolecules by using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) remains a challenge because of the near-field effect of traditional substrates. Long-range surface plasmon resonance (LRSPR) is a special type...
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