Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Covering everything from the basic theoretical and practical knowledge to new exciting developments in the field with a focus on analytical and life science applications, this monograph shows how to apply surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for solving real world problems. From the contents: * Theory and practice of SERS * Analytical applications * SERS combined with other analytical techniques * Biophysical applications * Life science applications including various microscopies Aimed at analytical, surface and medicinal chemists, spectroscopists, biophysicists and materials scientists. Includes a Foreword by the renowned Raman spectroscopist Professor Wolfgang Kiefer, the former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Raman Spectroscopy.

Almost 30 years after the first reports on surface-enhanced Raman signals, the phenomenon of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is now well established. SERS gained particular interest after single-molecule Raman spectroscopy had been demonstrated. This book summarizes and discusses present theoretical approaches that explain the phenomenon of SERS and reports on new and exciting experiments and applications of the fascinating spectroscopic effect.

SERS was discovered in the 1970s and has since grown enormously in breadth, depth, and understanding. One of the major characteristics of SERS is its interdisciplinary nature: it lies at the boundary between physics, chemistry, colloid science, plasmonics, nanotechnology, and biology. By their very nature, it is impossible to find a textbook that will summarize the principles needed for SERS of these rather dissimilar and disconnected topics. Although a basic understanding of these topics is necessary for research projects in SERS with all its many aspects and applications, they are seldom touched upon as a coherent unit during most undergraduate studies in physics or chemistry. This book intends to fill this existing gap in the literature. It provides an overview of the underlying principles of SERS, from the fundamental understanding of the effect to its potential applications. It is aimed primarily at newcomers to the field, graduate students, researchers or scientists, attracted by the many applications of SERS and plasmonics or its basic science. The emphasis is on concepts and background material for SERS, such as Raman spectroscopy, the physics of plasmons, or colloid science, all of them introduced within the context of SERS, and from where the more specialized literature can be followed. Represents one of very few books fully dedicated to the topic of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) Gives a comprehensive summary of the underlying physical concepts around SERS Provides a detailed analysis of plasmons and plasmonics

This book gives an overview of recent developments in RS and SERS for sensing and biosensing considering also limitations, possibilities and prospects of this technique. Raman scattering (RS) is a widely used vibrational technique providing highly specific molecular spectral patterns. A severe limitation for the application of this spectroscopic technique lies in the low cross section of RS. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy overcomes this problem by 6-11 orders of magnitude enhancement compared with the standard RS for molecules in the close vicinity of certain rough metal surfaces. Thus, SERS combines molecular fingerprint specificity with potential single-molecule sensitivity. Due to the recent development of new SERS-active substrates, labeling and derivatization chemistry as well as new instrumentations, SERS became a very promising tool for many varied applications, including bioanalytical studies and sensing. Both intrinsic and extrinsic SERS biosensing schemes have been employed to detect and identify small molecules, nucleic acids and proteins, and also for cellular and in vivo sensing.

In the course of the development of surface science, advances have been identified with the introduction of new diagnostic probes for analytical characterization of the adsorbates and microscopic structure of surfaces and interfaces. Among the most recently de veloped techniques, and one around which a storm of controversy has developed, is what has now been earmarked as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Within this phenomenon, molecules adsorbed onto metal surfaces under certain conditions exhibit an anomalously large interaction cross section for the Raman effect. This makes it possible to observe the detailed vibrational signature of the adsorbate in the ambient phase with an energy resolution much higher than that which is presently available in electron energy loss spectroscopy and when the surface is in contact with a much larger amount of material than that which can be tolerated in infrared absorption experiments. The ability to perform vibrational spectroscopy under these conditions would lead to a new understanding about the chemical identity, geome try, and bonding of adsorbed material at a level previously unacces sible. It is for these reasons that the last few years have brought an explosion of activity surrounding the exploitation of SERS. The search for the origines) of the anomalous enhancement has given rise to a research sub-activity of its own. Efforts to explain the en hancement have led to an increased understanding of the whole range of phenomena associated with the interaction of photons with adsor bates and metal surfaces.

Principles and Clinical Diagnostic Applications of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy summarizes the principles of surface-enhanced Raman scattering/spectroscopy (SERS) and plasmonic nanomaterials for SERS, with a focus on SERS applications in clinical diagnostics. This book covers the key concepts from the fundamentals, materials, experimental aspects, and applications of SERS in clinical diagnostics with discussions on label-free/direct SERS assay, design and synthesis of SERS nanotags, SERS nanotags for point-of-care diagnostics, microfluidic SERS assay, and in vitro and in vivo sensing and imaging. Written by experts from around the world, this comprehensive volume showcases the recent progress of SERS applications in clinical diagnostics and helps readers understand when and how to use SERS in a clinical setting. Introduces the basics of SERS and suitable nanomaterials for SERS application Gives an overview of the cutting-edge research on SERS applications for clinical diagnosis, including the latest advances in our understanding of underlying principles to enable material design and clinical applications Gradually builds from the fundamental concepts to the applications of SERS for clinical diagnostics

In the last decade, we have seen spurring growth in academic and industrial interest in Raman spectroscopy and its modifications, in particular, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). This is evident by the number of SERS publications in the last decade, from 580 in 2005 to almost 2000 in 2014. There are now companies worldwide that are dedicated to manufacturing SERS substrate, sensors, and other SERS-based products. The miniaturization of Raman instrumentation from bulky and expensive bench-top designs to inexpensive handheld spectrometers has allowed SERS to be employed as an in situ detection technique. Some examples of the industrial success of Raman and SERS are rapid raw material identification (RMID), Process Analytical Technology (PAT) and drug screening in pharma and biotech industries, continuous surveillance of food, water, and environmental safety, and the diagnosis and continuous monitoring of diseases like cancer, diabetes, etc. This progress in translating Raman and SERS techniques into commercial use and commercial products is possible because of the close collaboration between scientists and engineers. However, the weak signals of Raman spectroscopy is an inherent limitation of the spontaneous Raman spectroscopy technique. Therefore, several modifications have been made, including but not limited to, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS), transmission Raman spectroscopy (TRS), coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). Spontaneous Raman spectroscopy has become a one-of-a kind, portable, and affordable technology for in-situ detection and continuous monitoring in resource-limited-settings. The primary focus of this textbook is to try to cover the fundamentals in SERS methods of preparing substrates and sensors, and efficient spectral analysis approaches like chemometrics for diverse applications, listed in the paragraph above. However, with a goal to give a true picture to the audience when assessing the scope of spontaneous Raman and Surface-enhanced Raman for specific applications, we have briefly introduced industrially successful examples of other types of Raman spectroscopy techniques, such as SORS, TRS, and CARS.

Surface Enhanced Vibrational Spectroscopy (SEVS) has reached maturity as an analytical technique, but until now there has been no single work that describes the theory and experiments of SEVS. This book combines the two important techniques of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface-enhanced infrared (SEIR) into one text that serves as the definitive resource on SEVS. Discusses both the theory and the applications of SEVS and provides an up-to-date study of the state of the art Offers interpretations of SEVS spectra for practicing analysts Discusses interpretation of SEVS spectra, which can often be very different to the non-enhanced spectrum - aids the practicing analyst