Functionalized MoS2: circular economy SERS substrate for label-free detection of bilirubin in clinical diagnosis.

Abstract

A one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of Fe-doped MoS2 nanoflowers (Fe-MoS2 NFs) has been developed as a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate. The Fe-MoS2 NFs display high reproducibility, stability, and recyclability, which is beneficial for the development of the sustainable ecological environment. The SERS substrate provides a high enhancement factor of 105, which can be ascribed to the inducing defects by doping Fe that can improve the charge transfer between probe molecules and MoS2. TheFe-MoS2 NFshave beenused to detect bilirubin in serum. The Fe-MoS2 NF SERS substrate exhibits a linear detection range from 10-3 to 10-9M with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 10-8M. Thesubstrate displays an excellent selectivity to bilirubin in the presence of other potentiallyinterfering molecules (dextrose and phosphate). These results providea novel concept to synthesize ultra-sensitive SERS substrates and open up a wide range of possibilities for new applications of MoS2 in clinical diagnosis.