Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): progress and trends

Abstract

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combines molecular fingerprint specificity with potential single-molecule sensitivity. Therefore, the SERS technique is an attractive tool for sensing molecules in trace amounts within the field of chemical and biochemical analytics. Since SERS is an ongoing topic, which can be illustrated by the increased annual number of publications within the last few years, this review reflects the progress and trends in SERS research in approximately the last three years. The main reason why the SERS technique has not been established as a routine analytic technique, despite its high specificity and sensitivity, is due to the low reproducibility of the SERS signal. Thus, this review is dominated by the discussion of the various concepts for generating powerful, reproducible, SERS-active surfaces. Furthermore, the limit of sensitivity in SERS is introduced in the context of single-molecule spectroscopy and the calculation of the 'real' enhancement factor. In order to shed more light onto the underlying molecular processes of SERS, the theoretical description of SERS spectra is also a growing research field and will be summarized here. In addition, the recording of SERS spectra is affected by a number of parameters, such as laser power, integration time, and analyte concentration. To benefit from synergies, SERS is combined with other methods, such as scanning probe microscopy and microfluidics, which illustrates the broad applications of this powerful technique.

Raman scattering mediated by neighboring molecules

“…Raman scattering involving individual optical centers is a well-established molecular process used as a spectroscopic [1][2][3] and microscopic tool 4,5 with an ever-increasing range of applications, including surface-enhanced spectroscopy, [6][7][8][9][10][11] sensing, [12][13][14] the detection of environmental pollutants, 15,16 and identification of disease. 17 The theoretical basis for the underlying phenomenon is well-known and established with quantum electrodynamical techniques offering a particularly insightful means of formulation.…”

Spectroscopic fingerprint of tea varieties by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

“…This enhancement provides the in situ detection of molecules with high sensitivity (Temiz et al 2013). SERS is a well-established instrumentation with the advantages of little or no sample preparation (Cialla et al 2012;McNay et al 2011;Yazgan et al 2012). Besides that, compared with other techniques, it is simple to use with high sensitivity, low operational cost, and no need for trained personnel (Guven et al 2012;Temur et al 2012).…”

“…Therefore, SERS has become the cornerstone of many selective and ultra-sensitive detection methods in chemical and biological applications (Liu et al 2011;Yao et al 2013). On the other hand, SERS is defined as combining the fingerprint specificity and potential single molecule sensitivity (Cialla et al 2012). This technique enables fingerprint spectra of the molecules to be obtained which include detailed information about the molecular composition and chemical structure of the molecules (Temiz et al 2013) and obtains characteristic vibrational fingerprints of molecules (Yao et al 2013).…”

Optically Trapped Surface-Enhanced Raman Probes Prepared by Silver Photoreduction to 3D Microstructures

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] SERS relies on local field enhancement due to plasmon resonances at nano-sized metal structures (present in colloidal suspensions 9,10 or on solid SERS substrates [11][12][13] ), which leads to manifold Raman signal enhancement from molecules located near the metal surface. [14][15][16][17] There are two approaches reported in the literature for combining optical tweezers with SERS detection. First, SERS-active metal particles can be directly trapped by laser tweezers.…”