Reliable and quantitative SERS detection of dopamine levels in human blood plasma using a plasmonic Au/Ag nanocluster substrate

Abstract

Accurate and rapid blood-based detection of dopamine levels can aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases related to dopaminergic dysfunction.

DNA Origami-Templated Bimetallic Nanostar Assemblies for Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Dopamine

“…For example, size-specific gold (Au) nanoparticles ( Pal et al, 2019 ), spherical Au@Ag NPs ( Chen et al, 2010 ), and Au and Ag NPs ( Sergiienko et al, 2017 ) were synthesized to explore the stoichiometry effect on SERS signal enhancement. Various metallic nanostructure-based SERS substrates, such as Au/Ag nanoclusters ( Phung et al, 2018 ), self-assembled Au nanoparticles ( An et al, 2011 ), Ag nanocubes ( Lu et al, 2020 ), worm-like Ag clusters ( Palanisamy et al, 2015 ), and spread spectrum SERS technique ( Lee et al, 2021 ), were developed in the last few years as probes for sensitive dopamine detection. These strategies are, however, limited by the experimental challenges for the systematic arrangement of nanostructures with nanometer-scale precision.…”

Facile synthesis of boronic acid-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for efficient dopamine extraction

“…Since the DA system plays a key role in several medical conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, Segawa disease, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, DA concentration in biological fluids is used as important indicator for early disease diagnosis [5, 6]. Several analytical methods have been used to detect DA molecules in bio-fluids, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay, fluorescence measurements, electrochemical analysis, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) [7–12]. However, it is very difficult to determine physiological levels of DA owing to its low concentration and the presence of interfering components, which can decrease the effectiveness of common analytical tools [13, 14].…”

Sandwiching analytes with structurally diverse plasmonic nanoparticles on paper substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

“…Further signal enhancement can be achieved by properly controlling the interparticle coupling environments and multiple junctions between nanoscale structures (i.e., hot spots), where extraordinarily strong local electric elds are oen generated near the vicinity of nanoscale materials possessing surface plasmon resonance (SPR). 2,6,9,10 The signal enhancements by SERS have been highly tuned by the characteristics of the substrates associated with the plasmonic properties and morphology of the nanostructures. 1,3,8,11,12 As such, enormous efforts have been made to the development of structurally diverse plasmonic materials and new fabrication strategies capable of nely tuning their arrangements for SERS enhancement.…”

“…S1 †). 2,10,20,22 This sandwich geometry creates additional local aggregates to induce a high probability of having sensing molecules reside between the NP gaps and junctions (i.e., NP-analyte-NP arrangement), thereby notably improving the SERS sensitivity. Thus, we thoroughly examined the degree of the SERS enhancements of the initial and sandwiched analytes on plasmonic papers to understand not only the amplied EM effect associated with abundant interparticle SPR coupling and hot spots, but also the structural impact on long-term stability, reproducibility, and applicability in biological systems.…”