Blu-ray DVD as SERS substrate for reliable detection of albumin, creatinine and urea in urine

Abstract

We report here the working of a simple reproducible surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate by efficiently guiding localized plasmon resonance (LSPR) field of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through trapping it in the nano channels of a blu-ray digital versatile disc (BRDVD). SERS based sensing of the designed substrate has been performed. The trapped AuNPs in the channel of the BRDVD generate guided mode resonance (GMR) field and the photon lifetime of the coupled em field in the channel increases which accounts for overall enhancement of the local field intensity. These two factors are primarily responsible for enhancement of the scattered Raman signal from the substrate. The proposed SERS substrate yields reasonably stable signal intensity over a period of 45 days. With the designed substrate Raman signal intensities of three clinically important chemicals namely albumin, creatinine and urea in urine have been measured and quantified reliably. The minimum concentration of albumin, creatinine and urea which can be measured by Raman spectrometer are 0.1 μg/mL, 0.2 μg/mL and 0.6 μg/mL respectively. These values are well below the normal range and thus meet the requirement of detection and analysis of these chemicals for different clinical purposes.