Intracellular and Cellular Detection by SERS‐Active Plasmonic Nanostructures

Abstract

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), with greatly amplified fingerprint spectra, holds great promise in biochemical and biomedical research. In particular, the possibility of exciting a library of SERS probes and differentially detecting them simultaneously has stimulated widespread interest in multiplexed biodetection. Herein, recent progress in developing SERS‐active plasmonic nanostructures for cellular and intracellular detection is summarized. The development of nanosensors with tailored plasmonic and multifunctional properties for profiling molecular and pathological processes is highlighted. Future challenges towards the routine use of SERS technology in quantitative bioanalysis and clinical diagnostics are further discussed.

Recent advances of Au@Ag core–shell SERS‐based biosensors

“…It is one of the best technique to identify the substances, recognizing chemicals and molecular structures. [ 1 ] By amplifying the value of scattering signal coming from the interaction among noble metal target and excitation beam known SERS, it can increase the sensitivity for cellular detection, [ 2 ] viral identification, [ 3 ] and biomolecular detection. [ 4 ] This technique can be further utilized in the bioimaging, environmental studying, and other biomedicine tests.…”

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensing for detection and mapping of key cellular biomarkers

“…Some review articles have been published to introduce the SERS-based methodology for multi-scale biomedical imaging and SERS sensing of molecular biomarkers in cellular processes. [23][24][25][26] In this review, we comprehensively discuss the recent advances in SERS sensing for the detection and mapping of key biomarkers, including small biomolecules, proteins, nucleic acids, and especially glycans, with a particular focus on the latest consideration to improve the sensing performance including the efficiency, sensitivity, and selectivity and applications. We divide this topic into three categories: (1) the detection and mapping of small molecular biomarkers such as pH, ROS and small biomolecule metabolites, (2) the detection and mapping of biomacromolecules like proteins, nucleic acids and glycans, and (3) multi-modal analysis related SERS sensing (Fig.…”

SERS Endoscopy for Monitoring Intracellular Drug Dynamics

“…In this regard, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) holds much promise by virtue of its label-free and highsensitivity structural fingerprinting capabilities, which allow one to identify molecules, to determine their structural conformation and environment, and even to monitor dynamical changes. 3 The internalization of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in living cells has been widely exploited for intracellular SERS measurements. 4 However, upon endocytosis, NPs are normally trapped in endolysosomes, limiting SERS detection to the acidic microenvironment of these vesicles.…”