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Biosensors
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SERS-Based Biosensors: Design and Biomedical Applications
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SERS-Based Biosensors: Design and Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical and Photonic Biosensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 11187

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ojodomo J. Achadu

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Health and Life Sciences, and National Horizon Centre (NHC), Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BA, UK
Interests: nanomaterials (materials) chemistry and engineering; optical spectroscopy; surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based diagnostic biosensors design; nanobiosensors design for pathogens (infectious viruses) and neurodegenerative disease diagnostics; Raman microscopy and imaging technique development
Prof. Dr. Islam Meez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Health and Life Sciences, and National Horizon Centre (NHC), Teesside University, Middlesbrough TS1 3BA, UK
Interests: optical spectroscopy; development and application of cavity-enhanced spectroscopy; development and application of UV-Visible hyperspectral imaging; development and application of Raman spectroscopy to biomedical sciences; application of FTIR spectroscopy; design and fabrication of optical instruments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has gained recognition as a powerful tool for chemical analysis and for determining structural information about molecular systems in a wide range of fields. The emerging applications in the biomedical sciences include the chemical characterisation of biomarkers, diagnostic immunoassays for disease detection and non-invasive cellular and tissue imaging. The SERS effect and mechanism is based on the strong amplification of the Raman signals of target molecules adsorbed and/or in proximity with Au or Ag metallic nanostructures and plasmonic quantum dots, which are commonly utilised in colloidal form or supported on solid substrates. The degree of SERS amplification is greatly dependent on the substrates employed for qualitative analysis and quantitative detection. Therefore, the development of SERS technologies with high sensitivity, reproducible results, and stability has become a hot topic in recent years, particularly as a clinical tool in the biomedical fields.

Interestingly, innovations in Raman instrumentation have played a role in the rapid development of SERS and related concepts. These technological advances include confocal Raman microscopy (CRM), spatially offset Raman scattering (SORS), tip-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (TERS), and surface-enhanced Raman chemical imaging (SER-CI).

For this Special Issue, we welcome original research papers as well as reviews on current developments in the design of high-sensitivity and reproducible biomedical diagnostic systems with SERS, TERS, CRM, and/or SORS technologies. This includes the design of state-of-the art biosensors for disease biomarkers, characterisation of biomolecules, biological analysis, and medical diagnostics. Theoretical research on the interaction and spatial distribution of adsorbate biomaterials on metal surfaces and substrates is also encouraged. The design and development of lab-on-a-chip devices, wearable and plug-and-play biosensors, and portable/handheld SERS-based platforms for point-of-care applications is of special interest. Reviews should provide an in-depth examination of the most recent research in a specific context or discuss the existing and future issues related with SERS and Raman imaging in the biomedical field.

Dr. Ojodomo J. Achadu
Prof. Dr. Islam Meez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • SERS
  • Raman imaging
  • biosensing
  • plasmonic nanostructures
  • disease diagnostics
  • biomarker detection
  • biomolecules characterisation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 3634 KiB  
Article
Polarized and Evanescent Guided Wave Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Ligand Interactions on a Plasmonic Nanoparticle Optical Chemical Bench
by Xining Chen and Mark P. Andrews
Biosensors 2024, 14(9), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios14090409 - 23 Aug 2024
Viewed by 688
Abstract
This study examined applications of polarized evanescent guided wave surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to determine the binding and orientation of small molecules and ligand-modified nanoparticles, and the relevance of this technique to lab-on-a-chip, surface plasmon polariton and other types of field enhancement techniques relevant [...] Read more.
This study examined applications of polarized evanescent guided wave surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to determine the binding and orientation of small molecules and ligand-modified nanoparticles, and the relevance of this technique to lab-on-a-chip, surface plasmon polariton and other types of field enhancement techniques relevant to Raman biosensing. A simplified tutorial on guided-wave Raman spectroscopy is provided that introduces the notion of plasmonic nanoparticle field enhancements to magnify the otherwise weak TE- and TM-polarized evanescent fields for Raman scattering on a simple plasmonic nanoparticle slab waveguide substrate. The waveguide construct is called an optical chemical bench (OCB) to emphasize its adaptability to different kinds of surface chemistries that can be envisaged to prepare optical biosensors. The OCB forms a complete spectroscopy platform when integrated into a custom-built Raman spectrograph. Plasmonic enhancement of the evanescent field is achieved by attaching porous carpets of Au@Ag core shell nanoparticles to the surface of a multi-mode glass waveguide substrate. We calibrated the OCB by establishing the dependence of SER spectra of adsorbed 4-mercaptopyridine and 4-aminobenzoic acid on the TE/TM polarization state of the evanescent field. We contrasted the OCB construct with more elaborate photonic chip devices that also benefit from enhanced evanescent fields, but without the use of plasmonics. We assemble hierarchies of matter to show that the OCB can resolve the binding of Fe2+ ions from water at the nanoscale interface of the OCB by following the changes in the SER spectra of 4MPy as it coordinates the cation. A brief introduction to magnetoplasmonics sets the stage for a study that resolves the 4ABA ligand interface between guest magnetite nanoparticles adsorbed onto host plasmonic Au@Ag nanoparticles bound to the OCB. In some cases, the evanescent wave TM polarization was strongly attenuated, most likely due to damping by inertial charge carriers that favor optical loss for this polarization state in the presence of dense assemblies of plasmonic nanoparticles. The OCB offers an approach that provides vibrational and orientational information for (bio)sensing at interfaces that may supplement the information content of evanescent wave methods that rely on perturbations in the refractive index in the region of the evanescent wave. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SERS-Based Biosensors: Design and Biomedical Applications)
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15 pages, 9504 KiB  
Article
Understanding DNA Epigenetics by Means of Raman/SERS Analysis for Cancer Detection
by Luca David, Anca Onaciu, Valentin Toma, Rareș-Mario Borșa, Cristian Moldovan, Adrian-Bogdan Țigu, Diana Cenariu, Ioan Șimon, Gabriela-Fabiola Știufiuc, Eugen Carasevici, Brîndușa Drăgoi, Ciprian Tomuleasa and Rareș-Ionuț Știufiuc
Biosensors 2024, 14(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios14010041 - 12 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2147
Abstract
This study delves into the intricate interaction between DNA and nanosystems, exploring its potential implications for biomedical applications. The focus lies in understanding the adsorption geometry of DNA when in proximity to plasmonic nanoparticles, utilizing ultrasensitive vibrational spectroscopy techniques. Employing a combined Raman-SERS [...] Read more.
This study delves into the intricate interaction between DNA and nanosystems, exploring its potential implications for biomedical applications. The focus lies in understanding the adsorption geometry of DNA when in proximity to plasmonic nanoparticles, utilizing ultrasensitive vibrational spectroscopy techniques. Employing a combined Raman-SERS analysis, we conducted an in-depth examination to clarify the molecular geometry of interactions between DNA and silver nanoparticles. Our findings also reveal distinctive spectral features regarding DNA samples due to their distinctive genome stability. To understand the subtle differences occurring between normal and cancerous DNA, their thermal stability was investigated by means of SERS measurement performed before and after a thermal treatment at 94 °C. It was proved that thermal treatment did not affect DNA integrity in the case of normal cells. On the other hand, due to epimutation pattern that characterizes cancerous DNA, variations between spectra recorded before and after heat treatment were observed, suggesting genome instability. These findings highlight the potential of DNA analysis using SERS for cancer detection. They demonstrate the applicability of this approach to overcoming challenges associated with low DNA concentrations (e.g., circulating tumor DNA) that occur in biofluids. In conclusion, this research contributes significant insights into the nanoscale behavior of DNA in the presence of nanosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SERS-Based Biosensors: Design and Biomedical Applications)
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20 pages, 2441 KiB  
Article
Soft Epidermal Paperfluidics for Sweat Analysis by Ratiometric Raman Spectroscopy
by Ata Golparvar, Lucie Thenot, Assim Boukhayma and Sandro Carrara
Biosensors 2024, 14(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios14010012 - 25 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3716
Abstract
The expanding interest in digital biomarker analysis focused on non-invasive human bodily fluids, such as sweat, highlights the pressing need for easily manufactured and highly efficient soft lab-on-skin solutions. Here, we report, for the first time, the integration of microfluidic paper-based devices (μPAD) [...] Read more.
The expanding interest in digital biomarker analysis focused on non-invasive human bodily fluids, such as sweat, highlights the pressing need for easily manufactured and highly efficient soft lab-on-skin solutions. Here, we report, for the first time, the integration of microfluidic paper-based devices (μPAD) and non-enhanced Raman-scattering-enabled optical biochemical sensing (Raman biosensing). Their integration merges the enormous benefits of μPAD, with high potential for commercialization and use in resource-limited settings, with biorecognition-element-free (but highly selective) optical Raman biosensing. The introduced thin (0.36 mm), ultra-lightweight (0.19 g), and compact footprint (3 cm2) opto-paperfluidic sweat patch is flexible, stretchable, and conforms, irritation-free, to hairless or minimally haired body regions to enable swift sweat collection. As a great advantage, this new bio-chemical sensory system excels through its absence of onboard biorecognition elements (bioreceptor-free) and omission of plasmonic nanomaterials. The proposed easy fabrication process is adaptable to mass production by following a fully sustainable and cost-effective process utilizing only basic tools by avoiding typically employed printing or laser patterning. Furthermore, efficient collection and transportation of precise sweat volumes, driven exclusively by the wicking properties of porous materials, shows high efficiency in liquid transportation and reduces biosensing latency by a factor of 5 compared to state-of-the-art epidermal microfluidics. The proposed unit enables electronic chip-free and imaging-less visual sweat loss quantification as well as optical biochemical analysis when coupled with Raman spectroscopy. We investigated the multimodal quantification of sweat urea and lactate levels ex vivo (with syntactic sweat including +30 sweat analytes on porcine skin) and achieved a linear dynamic range from 0 to 100 mmol/L during fully dynamic continuous flow characterization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SERS-Based Biosensors: Design and Biomedical Applications)
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Review

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13 pages, 1581 KiB  
Review
Advancing Brain Research through Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS): Current Applications and Future Prospects
by Suzan Elsheikh, Nathan P. Coles, Ojodomo J. Achadu, Panagiota S. Filippou and Ahmad A. Khundakar
Biosensors 2024, 14(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios14010033 - 10 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4028
Abstract
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has recently emerged as a potent analytical technique with significant potential in the field of brain research. This review explores the applications and innovations of SERS in understanding the pathophysiological basis and diagnosis of brain disorders. SERS holds significant [...] Read more.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has recently emerged as a potent analytical technique with significant potential in the field of brain research. This review explores the applications and innovations of SERS in understanding the pathophysiological basis and diagnosis of brain disorders. SERS holds significant advantages over conventional Raman spectroscopy, particularly in terms of sensitivity and stability. The integration of label-free SERS presents promising opportunities for the rapid, reliable, and non-invasive diagnosis of brain-associated diseases, particularly when combined with advanced computational methods such as machine learning. SERS has potential to deepen our understanding of brain diseases, enhancing diagnosis, monitoring, and therapeutic interventions. Such advancements could significantly enhance the accuracy of clinical diagnosis and further our understanding of brain-related processes and diseases. This review assesses the utility of SERS in diagnosing and understanding the pathophysiological basis of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, stroke, and brain cancer. Recent technological advances in SERS instrumentation and techniques are discussed, including innovations in nanoparticle design, substrate materials, and imaging technologies. We also explore prospects and emerging trends, offering insights into new technologies, while also addressing various challenges and limitations associated with SERS in brain research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue SERS-Based Biosensors: Design and Biomedical Applications)
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