Plasmonic and Electrostatic Interactions Enable Uniformly Enhanced Liquid Bacterial Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)
Loza F. Tadesse, Chi-Sing Ho, Dong-Hua Chen, Hamed Arami, Niaz Banaei, Sanjiv S. Gambhir, Stefanie S. Jeffrey, Amr A. E. Saleh, Jennifer A. Dionne
Abstract
bacteria in water. Varying the concentration of bacteria and nanorods, we achieve large-area SERS enhancement that is independent of nanorod resonance and bacteria type; however, bacteria with higher surface charge density exhibit significantly higher SERS signal. Using cryo-electron microscopy and zeta potential measurements, we show that the higher signal results from attraction between positively charged nanorods and negatively charged bacteria. Our robust liquid-SERS measurements provide a foundation for bacterial identification and drug testing in biological fluids.
Topics & Concepts
NanorodPlasmonSurface plasmon resonanceStaphylococcus epidermidisZeta potentialRaman scatteringSurface-enhanced Raman spectroscopyMaterials scienceNanotechnologyBacteriaRaman spectroscopySerratia marcescensChemistryNanoparticleEscherichia coliOptoelectronicsOpticsStaphylococcus aureusBiologyPhysicsGeneGeneticsBiochemistryGold and Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis and ApplicationsSpectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical ResearchBiosensors and Analytical Detection