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Research article

Spectral characterization and intracellular detection of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)-encoded plasmonic gold nanostars

  1. Hsiangkuo Yuan1,2,
  2. Andrew M. Fales1,2,
  3. Christopher G. Khoury1,2,
  4. Jesse Liu1,
  5. Tuan Vo-Dinh1,2,3,*

Article first published online: 5 OCT 2012

DOI: 10.1002/jrs.4172

Issue

Journal of Raman Spectroscopy

Journal of Raman Spectroscopy

Volume 44, Issue 2, pages 234–239, February 2013

Additional Information

How to Cite

Yuan, H., Fales, A. M., Khoury, C. G., Liu, J. and Vo-Dinh, T. (2013), Spectral characterization and intracellular detection of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)-encoded plasmonic gold nanostars. J. Raman Spectrosc., 44: 234–239. doi: 10.1002/jrs.4172

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

  2. 2

    Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

  3. 3

    Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

*Correspondence to: Tuan Vo-Dinh, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Box 90281, Durham, NC 27708–0281, USA. E-mail: tuan.vodinh@duke.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 24 JAN 2013
  2. Article first published online: 5 OCT 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 27 JUL 2012
  4. Manuscript Revised: 23 JUL 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 25 MAY 2012

Funded by

  • National Institutes of Health. Grant Numbers: R01 EB006201, R01 ES014774
  • AMF is supported by a training grant fromthe National Institutes of Health. Grant Number: T32 EB001040

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Keywords:

  • gold nanoparticle;
  • nanostars;
  • SERS;
  • in vitro;
  • silica

Plasmonic gold nanostars offer a new platform for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). However, due to the presence of organic surfactant on the nanoparticles, SERS characterization and application of nanostar ensembles in solution have been challenging. Here, we applied our newly developed surfactant-free nanostars for SERS characterization and application. The SERS enhancement factors (EF) of silver spheres, gold spheres and nanostars of similar sizes and concentration were compared. Under 785 nm excitation, nanostars and silver spheres have similar EF, and both are much stronger than gold spheres. Having plasmon matching the incident energy and multiple ‘hot spots’ on the branches bring forth strong SERS response without the need to aggregate. Intracellular detection of silica-coated SERS-encoded nanostars was also demonstrated in breast cancer cells. The non-aggregated field enhancement makes the gold nanostar ensemble a promising agent for SERS bioapplications. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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