Raman spectroscopy investigation of biological materials by use of etched and silver coated glass fiber tips

Abstract

The results for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) studies on biological samples are reported. Etched and silver coated glass fiber tips were used as a SERS substrate. This method enabled the recording of spectra of biological samples, such as plant tissue or microbiological cells, with a high spatial resolution. Because of the low laser power used with the fiber tips, it was even possible to investigate tissues that are very sensitive toward laser power as it is used in a common micro-Raman setup.

Identification and quantification of valuable plant substances by IR and Raman spectroscopy

“…However, high amounts of heavy metals required for SERS technique often lead to destruction of the sensitive biological samples. One approach to overcome this problem is the application of silver-coated glass fiber tips with the diameter in the submicron size range as the SERS substrate [52]. Due to the small dimension of the fiber and the fact that the main light intensity is emanating from the fiber tip, the spatial resolution of this method is very high (200-500 nm) and the laser power can be significantly reduced [53].…”

Miniature fiber-optic multicavity Fabry–Perot interferometric biosensor

“…Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been utilized in biological and chemical applications [86,87]. Silver-coated etched fiber tips with submicron diameters were used as the SERS substrate.…”

Silver Nanoparticles: Sensing and Imaging Applications

“…In this type of sensor, the substrate is simultaneously part of the excitation and detection mechanism. For example, glass fiber tips coated by silver nanoparticles enabled the recording of spectra of biological samples, such as plant tissues or microbiological cells, with a high spatial resolution and avoiding sample photoinduced destruction due to the considerably reduced laser power required with this sensor (Gessner et al, 2002). In another example, crystal violet molecules, a contaminant in aquaculture, were detected in water far below the ppb detection limit (Lucotti & Zerbi, 2007).…”