Effective Enrichment of Plasmonic Hotspots for SERS by Spinning Droplets on a Slippery Concave Dome Array.

Abstract

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection requires dense hotspots and a uniform distribution of analytes to obtain a stable signal with good repeatability. However, due to the coffee-ring effect on the hydrophilic substrate, and the difficulty of droplet manipulation on the superhydrophobic substrate, few substrates can ensure that the analytes are evenly distributed. In this work, we develop a method that can efficiently enrich plasmonic hotspots for SERS measurement on the superhydrophobic concave dome array (SCDA). The SCDA is formed by spraying hydrophobic silica nanoparticles onto a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) slab with a concave dome array that can physically confine the droplets and overcome the coffee-ring effect. During droplet evaporation, the SCDA is driven by a horizontal spinner, and the droplets spin on the SCDA, enabling the plasmonic nanoparticles to become closely packed to form the SERS hotspots. The limit of detection (LOD) of the dynamic-enriched SERS hotspots for crystal violet and methylene blue can reach up to 10−11 M. Moreover, the LOD for melamine in milk can reach 5 × 10−7 M, which is lower than the safety threshold defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Based on this SERS platform, an effective, low-cost, and simple method for SERS detection in analytical chemistry and food safety is highly expected.