BackgroundMicroalbuminuria (mAlb) detection is essential for the diagnosis and prognosis of nephrotic patients and hypoproteinemia. In this article, we develop a new surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) quantitative analysis method to detect mAlb in urine.MethodsCombined the mAlb immunoreaction with gold nanoreaction of graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONR)-HAuCl4-H2O2, and used Victoria blue B (VBB) as molecular probe with a SERS peak at 1,615 cm−1, a new SERS strategy for quantitative analysis of trace mAlb in urine was established.ResultsThe linear range of SERS quantitative analysis method is from 0.065 to 2.62 ng/mL, with a detection limit of 0.02 ng/mL. The SERS method was applied to analysis of mAlb in urine with good accuracy and reliability, the relative standard deviation is 0.49%–2.28% and the recovery is 96.9%–109.8%.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that the new SERS quantitative analysis method is of high sensitivity, good selectivity and simplicity. It has been applied to analysis of mAlb in urine, with satisfactory results.