Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
serves as a contrasting agent in identifying the location of cell
surface receptors under the electron microscope. Care in selecting
an NP dimension for a close match to the receptor dimension allows
one to estimate the number of receptors present on the cell surface.
In addition to the role as a transduction unit, the metal NP can be
rendered multifunctional through its photothermal properties or
act as a payload carrier in delivering therapeutic reagents into the
organisms.
While there are numerous demonstrations of SERS-based
bioanalytical applications and many research groups actively involved
in improving the designs of high sensitivity and reproducibility
SERS nanoprobes, the emphasis on its performance and design in
the interface layer with biomolecules will play a key role into its
successful deployment into clinical and commercial settings. For
example, adapting a functional layer of ZnS on the surface of the
NAEB SERS nanoprobe enables strong conjugation with antibodies
that contain the His-tag and retain the strong SERS signal opens the
door for NAEB to many afinity assay applications.
72
Incorporating
other functionality such as the SERS-active magnetic nanoprobes
also open the door for additional functionality.
SERS research continues at a rapid pace. The fundamental
aspects of this phenomenon are now understood. Three decades
of intense fundamental researches have laid a solid foundation
for this technique. Together with the advances in instrumental
developments achieved in the past few decades, one can envision a
compact, high throughput portable spectrometer enabled with high
quantum eficiency CCD detector and coupled microscope capable of
operating in confocal or even near-ield modes poised to launch this
technique into practical real-world environments.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank those who provided the permission for the
artwork and igures used in this article. We are greatly indebted to
our colleagues and collaborators for the published and unpublished
materials and their valuable discussions in putting together this
chapter: Dr. Ping-Ji Huang, Prof. Lai-Kwan Chau, Dr. Jamshid Tanha,
Ms. Shannon Ryan, Dr. Qingyan Hu, Dr. David Kennedy, and Dr. John
Paul Pezacki.
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