Development
of highly sensitive molecular sensors is of immense
current interest for biomedical diagnosis. Although the possibility
of single molecule detection through plasmonic sensors based on surface
enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been demonstrated, the practical
application of such devices is hindered due their complex fabrication
strategies and inhomogeneous Raman signal response. Here we present
a simple biological method for large scale fabrication of plasmonic
microtubes using selective nonpathogenic fungi as living templates.
The biologically fabricated microstructures can be used as SERS substrates
for the detection of organic molecules with signal enhancement factors
as high as 1 × 1010, exploiting their rugged, highly
porous surfaces with intense hot spots. Although they are structurally
not as perfect as those of chemically or physically fabricated plasmonic
SERS substrates, their morphological/geometrical inhomogeneity introduces
only about a one order fluctuation of SERS enhancement factor along
their lengths. The plasmonic microstructures have great potential
for the fabrication of cheap, efficient, and highly sensitive gold-based
biosensors for the detection and monitoring of organic molecules.
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