High Enhancement Factor Research Articles

DLC based substrate enabling single molecule detection by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

This work shows a new and surprising application of Diamond-Like Carbon as Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrate. It was investigated with the well-known Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as SERS test molecule and extended the detection limit to the astonishing attomolar level, which means single molecule detection. The SERS substrate started by depositing excellent quality Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) on aluminum, followed by laser modification of the DLC in a delimited area that defines the SERS substrate. The laser action gives electrical conductivity between the scratched surface and the aluminum. Silver was electrodeposited on this delimited area. The high Enhancement Factor was around 5 × 1012 at an R6G concentration of 7 × 10−18 M, observed only at few (and difficult to hit upon) points since the surface density was smaller than 2 R6G molecules/mm2. At each of the larger concentrations tested (7 × 10−15, 7 × 10−12, 7 × 10−9 and 7 × 10−6 M), the Raman intensities were in the same order of magnitude along the whole substrate, indicating a pretty homogeneous sensitivity. The repeatability among 5 samples tested at 7 × 10−12 M showed a standard deviation of only 18 %. The nano porous structure of the silver deposits, shown by Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscopy (FEG-SEM) appears to be like many other studies with electroplated silver. However, the Raman spectra backgrounds show that amorphous carbon is interacting with the silver nanoparticles. A probable explanation for the superior EF is the synergistic contributions of plasmon enhancement from silver and chemical enhancement from amorphous carbon nanostructure.

Quantitative analysis of acetamiprid and thiacloprid in green tea using enhanced SERS and neural networks

Neonicotinoids (NEOs) are widely used in agricultural cultivation, and the presence of residual NEOs poses a serious threat to consumer health. Therefore, trace detection of NEOs is particularly important. In this study, a response surface experimental design was employed to develop AgNP with high enhancement factor and surface height anisotropy, effectively enhancing the Raman signals of acetamiprid (ACE) and thiacloprid (THI) through densely populated hotspots on the surface. Gaussian simulation calculations were used to assign peaks in the ACE and THI spectra. Subsequently, convolutional neural network, backpropagation neural network, and AlexNet neural network were employed to identify the ACE, THI, and mixed component spectra, successfully distinguishing the spectra of the three compounds and achieving qualitative analysis of unknown spectra. Furthermore, genetic algorithm-partial least squares was used to model the spectral data, achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.97. The method was applied for the detection of spiked tea samples, achieving a precision RSD of 4.84 %. Therefore, this sensor combined with intelligent algorithms can be used for spectral identification and trace detection of mixed pesticide samples with structurally similar compounds.

Enhanced sensing of anharmonicities in a gain-based anti-PT symmetric system

Abstract We study the enhanced sensing of weak anharmonicities in a gain-based cavity-magnon-waveguide coupled system. By dissipatively coupling the two subsystems through a mediating waveguide, the Hamiltonian of the system is tailored to be anti-parity-time symmetric. Unique to the gain condition, the eigenvalues exhibit two singularities with linewidth suppression, distinguishing it from gain-free systems. Under the gain condition, a counter-intuitive bistable signature emerges even at low drive powers. As the effective gain approaches a certain value, this bistability yields a significantly enhanced spin-current response of the magnon mode. Consequently, the sensitivity, quantified by an enhancement factor, is enhanced remarkably compared to the linewidth suppression scenario. Moreover, the high enhancement factor can be sustained over a broad gain-bandwidth and also retains large even when the coherent coupling becomes considerably strong. Based on the integrated cavity-magnon-waveguide systems, the scheme can be used for sensing different physical quantities related to the Kerr-type nonlinearity and has potential applications in high-precision measuring microwave-signal nonlinearities.

Improved the Sensitivity and Limit of Detection of Surface Alloying SERS Sensors by Controlling Mixing Ratio of Trimetallic (Ag-Au-Pd) Nanoparticles

In this study, three different types of hybrid structures SERS sensors made from different mixing ratio of trimetallic (Ag-Au-Pd) nanoparticles of [Au1: Ag1: Pd1] , [Au1: Ag2: Pd1] , [Au1: Ag2: Pd2] in surface alloying forms deposited on macro porous silicon (macroPsi) layer were created and extensively tested. By using a simple and fast immersion process, trimetallic (Ag-Au-Pd) nanoparticles were created utilizing ion reduction of numerous metallic salts on a macro porous silicon (macroPsi) layer. The macroPsi layers were created using a laser assisted etching (LAE) technique for 15 minutes with a constant density of approximately (28mA/c.m2). At a constant concentration (10-3 M) of HAu.Cl4, Ag.NO3 and Pd.Cl2 to synthesize Au-NPs, Ag-NPs and Pd-NPs, immersion processes with various mixing ratios were performed. The hybrid structures of SERS sensors were examined using XRD, FE-SEM, and Raman microscopes. The sensors were tested at different concentrations from 10-6 to 10-12 of MB target molecules. The SERS trimetallic sensors demonstrated a considerable reliance on hot spot zones among trimetallic nanoparticles. Higher enhancement factor with lower detection limit of Raman signal was obtained from [Au1: Ag2: Pd2] hybrid structures SERS sensor of about 1.5×1010 and 10-14 respectively, due to extra ordinary specific surface area and high surface density forming trimetallic nanoparticles . The variations of mixing ratio of trimetallic (Ag-Au-Pd) provide an effective pathway to develop the sensors performance towards detection of lower concentrations.

Facile nanofabrication and simultaneous color-and-Raman hybrid mechanism of economic SERS substrate with tunable structure color for high enhancement factor

The conventional SERS technique utilizing metal nanoparticles (MNPs) is a powerful optical sensing method, relying on the inelastic collision between incident light and the analyte. However, the development of traditional color-tunable MNP-SERS substrates remains limited to two separate components of the color supporter for generating structure color and followed by the MNPs coating to generate the localized surface plasmonic resonance for SERS sensing. Here, a novel color-tunable SERS substrate without MNPs based on the economic one-step anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) coated with nanoporous Pt films was proposed to generate the color-and-Raman hybrid effect for high enhancement factor. This novel SERS substrate employs an economic method, that is a facile and low-cost one-step anodization process to fabricate the AAO with tunable structure color, enabling adaptation to excitation of laser sources. The substrate with the lowest reflectance to laser light exhibits the highest enhancement factor due to the coupling between the laser and the substrate. The resultant SERS substrate demonstrates a high enhancement factor (EF) of 5.27x105 to methylene blue with a good uniformity of the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.35 %. In a practical application, one of preservative, benzoic acid, was detected with a low concentration of 1 ppm in the extraction solution of tapioca balls. This innovative approach promotes limitations associated with traditional color-tunable SERS substrates and offers a promising path for sensitive and versatile trace substance detection.

DC vs AC Electrokinetics-Driven Nanoplasmonic Raman Monitoring of Charged Analyte Molecules in Ionic Solutions.

Electrokinetic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EK-SERS) is an emerging high-order analytical technique that combines the plasmonic sensitivity of SERS with the electrode interfacial molecular control of electrokinetics. However, previous EK-SERS works primarily focused on non-Faradaic direct current (DC) operation, limiting the understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, developing reliable EK-SERS devices with electrically connected plasmonic hotspots remains challenging for achieving high sensitivity and reproducibility in EK-SERS measurements. In this study, we investigated the use of two-tier nanolaminate nano-optoelectrode arrays (NL-NOEAs) for DC and alternating current (AC) EK-SERS measurements of charged analyte molecules in ionic solutions. The NL-NOEAs consist of Au/Ag/Au multilayered plasmonic nanostructures on conductive nanocomposite nanopillar arrays (NC-NPAs). We demonstrate that the NL-NOEAs exhibit high SERS enhancement factors (EFs) of ∼106 and can be used to modulate the concentration and orientation of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules at the electrode surface by applying DC and AC voltages. We also performed numerical simulations to investigate the ion and R6G dynamics near the electrode surface under DC and AC voltage modulation. Our results show that AC EK-SERS can provide additional insights into the dynamics of molecular transport and adsorption processes compared to DC EK-SERS. This study demonstrates the potential of NL-NOEAs for developing high-performance EK-SERS sensors for a wide range of applications.

Facile coupling of plasmonic Au-NPs on ZnS NFs as a robust SERS substrate for toluidine blue detection and degradation

BackgroundThe robustness and sensitivity of the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique heavily relies on the development of SERS active materials. A hybrid of semiconductor and plasmonic metals is highly effective as a SERS substrate, which enables the trace level detection of various organic pollutants. ResultsThis approach demonstrates the photodeposition of plasmonic gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) on the surface of semiconductor-zinc sulfide nanoflowers (ZnS NFs), grown via the hydrothermal route. The synergistic contribution of the charge-transfer phenomenon and localized surface plasmon resonance of the Au-NPs/ZnS NFs makes it an ideal SERS substrate for the detection of organic pollutants, toluidine blue (TB). The proposed material has a high SERS enhancement factor (109), low limit of detection (10−11 M), good reproducibility, selectivity and strong anti-interference ability. Furthermore, the practicability of the Au-NPs/ZnS NFs is explored in real-time water samples, which are obtained with the satisfactory recovery rates. Additionally, the UVC light illumination on the Au-NPs/ZnS NFs has efficiently degraded TB within a time period of 150 min. Significance and noveltyThese finding demonstrate the significance of the proposed Au-NPs/ZnS NFs for SERS based detection and degradation of organic pollutants in real-time samples, highlighting their potential in monitoring and treating water pollutants in wastewater.

A new highly sensitive flexible SERS substrate: CVD graphene/copper foil decorated by Ag NPs

Graphene-mediated surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates are currently being investigated for their potential in ultrasensitive detection. Graphene (G) combined with plasmonic metal nanostructures is expected to provide an exceptional SERS response. Here, we prepared a flexible multilayer composite structure by directly decorating silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on CVD graphene/copper foil under ultrasonic conditions. Due to the multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling of precious metals, extra chemical enhancement and exceptional molecule harvesting capability of G interlayer, the as-prepared Ag/G/Cu multilayer composite structure manifested ultrahigh sensitivity with the detection limit of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as low as 1.0 × 10-14 M and a high enhancement factor (EF) of 8.86 × 108. The high performance flexible SERS substrate, with its ingenious process and simple structure, demonstrates excellent potential for applications in environmental protection.

Novel approach of SERS sensors AgNPs/PSi by incorporated MWCNT

In this study, two types of nano photonics sensors silver nanoparticles/porous silicon (AgNPs/PSi) and silver nanoparticles/multi wall carbon nanotube/porous silicon (AgNPs/MWCNT/PSi) were formed and tested extensively. The porous silicon (PSi) substrate was formed by laser assisted chemical etching process at laser intensity 150 mW/cm2 and wavelength 630 nm respectively. The formation of these types of nano photonics SERS sensors were carried out by a simple and low cost dipping process of porous silicon (PSi) in silver nitrate (AgNO3) and multi wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) solution fixed concentration of AgNO3 about (10−3 M). These sensors were tested at different concentrations of difenoconazole, 10−5, 10−7, 10−9 and 10−10 M at room temperature. The research results showed an excellent sensing behavior of silver nanoparticles/multi wall carbon nanotube/porous silicon (AgNPs/MWCNT/PSi) comparing with the silver nanoparticles/porous silicon (AgNPs/PSi) nanoparticles sensors. Higher enhancement factor with lower limit of detection with multi wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) were improved by two orders of magnitude, due to the high value of the sensing area after incorporating multi wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) to nano photonics sensors.

Dynamically controllable hot spots in DNA-derived hydrogel scaffold SERS substrate for exosome recognition using DNA self-assembly amplification

In the context of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications, an effective active substrate is supposed to exhibit a high enhancement factor, long-term stability, and excellent repeatability, as well as allow target molecules to enter the hot spot area with adequate quantity and affinity. The electromagnetic field in hot spots can be drastically amplified and results in an extraordinary large signal enhancement. However, uncontrolled formation of hot spots has hampered the realization of this intention. Here, we reported an innovative SERS active substrate, named as DNA-derived dynamic hydrogel scaffold (DDHS), which is endowed with the robust electromagnetic enhancement and exceptional target affinity. Based on this integrated microfluidic chip, rationally designed DNA oligonucleotides were introduced to recognize exosome indicator-CD63, which achieved a limit of 2.63 particles μL−1. Taken together, we believed that the proposed strategy would be possible to accelerate SERS applied to trace detection of tumor biomarkers, thus offering a promising route toward screening test and early diagnostic of cancerdiseases.

Metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) effect based on silver nanoparticles with different UV spectra on a surface carbon dot-based novel dry platform

In this work, to enhance the fluorescence quantum yield of carbon dots (CDs), a novel metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) structure was designed by decorating CDs on silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) film. The glass slide-AgNPs (GS-AgNPs) structure was fabricated using the electrostatic adsorption method, and the AgNPs-CDs structures were prepared by the direct drying method, which then formed the GS-AgNPs-CDs composite structure. In this structure, the MEF effect was found to be size dependent by changing the 5 types of AgNPs with different sizes. And the MEF effect also decreased as the distance between the AgNPs and CDs increased by using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to separate the AgNPs and CDs. This hybrid structure can be used as a fluorescence detection platform and the recorded fluorescence intensity of GS-AgNPs 428 nm-CDs achieved a maximum enhancement factor (EF) of 31.72. Considering the high enhancement factor, this system may become promising to find potential applications in biochemical assay fields.

Engineering Single Component Luminogens to Multicomponent Charge‐transfer Co‐crystal Substrate as New Frontiers for Sensitive SERS Detection

AbstractOrganic charge‐transfer (CT) co‐crystals have demonstrated remarkable physical properties and have found applications in numerous fields. Yet their utility as a Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrate, a powerful and versatile analytical tool, has never been explored. Herein, three twisted molecular donors are synthesized, that exhibit well‐controlled switchable optical properties including aggregation‐induced emission (AIE), mechanochromic luminescence (MCL), and color‐specific polymorphism. Rapid production of charge‐transfer co‐crystals is also established with a π‐acceptor TCNQ and utilized conceptually as a SERS substrate for methylene blue (MB) detection, exhibiting a very high enhancement factor of 109 and limit of detection of 10−13 m, respectively, due to the presence of low‐lying excited state, exhibit an 80% CT character, originating from the HOMO of the co‐crystal and interacting with the LUMO of the MB molecule. This approach using CT co‐crystals as a SERS substrate presents newer frontiers that require minuscule levels of rapid detection and impact allied areas, helping us understand and optimize the fascinating properties of such multicomponent materials for newer technologies.

Extraction and preconcentration of lead (II) in various water and food samples by orbital shaker-assisted magnetic solid phase extraction method using a new magnetic poly linoleic acid-polystyrene-PDMS block copolymer

The aim of this study was to develop a practical orbital shaker-assisted magnetic solid phase extraction (OSA-MSPE) method for the determination of lead by FAAS. A new magnetic poly linoleic acid-polystyrene-polydimethylsiloxane (PSt-PLina-PDMS) hydrophobic graft copolymer was synthesized and characterized by NMR, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, DSC, TGA, BET and used as adsorbent for the extraction of Pb (II). This adsorbent can be used at least 50 times without any decrease of its adsorption properties for the adsorption and elution of analyte ions. Several analytical parameters including pH, adsorbent amount, sample volume, shaking time, etc. were optimized. Multivariate optimization was used for the investigation of different parameters. The linear range at optimum operating condition was 1.7–84 μg L−1. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.5 μg L−1, 1.7 μg L−1, respectively. Intraday and interday relative standard deviation (RSD %), enhancement factor (EF) and adsorbent capacity were found as 1.9%, 3.3%, 166.7, 50 mg g−1, respectively. OSA-MSPE method was tested with certified reference materials including LGC-6010 (Hard Drinking Water), NCS ZC73032 Celery and CS-M-3 Control Sample Microelements in Mushroom Powder for the accuracy. Experimental results for lead were confirmed with certified values. Present method was successfully applied to various liquid and solid food samples. The OSA-MSPE method has some important features such as selective, sensitive, low LOD, LOQ and RSD, pre-concentration factor (PF) and high enhancement factor (EF). High tolerance limits against matrix ions were achieved.

Curvature-Insensitive Transparent Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrate Based on Large-Area Ag Nanoparticle-Coated Wrinkled Polystyrene/Polydimethylsiloxane Film for Reliable In Situ Detection.

Flexible and transparent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates have attracted considerable attention for their ability to enable the direct in situ detection of analytes on curved surfaces. However, the curvature of an object can impact the signal enhancement of SERS during the measurement process. Herein, we propose a simple approach for fabricating a curvature-insensitive transparent SERS substrate by depositing silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) onto a large-area wrinkled polystyrene/polydimethylsiloxane (Ag NP@W-PS/PDMS) bilayer film. Using rhodamine 6G (R6G) as a probe molecule, the optimized Ag NP@W-PS/PDMS film demonstrates a high analytical enhancement factor (AEF) of 4.83 × 105, excellent uniformity (RSD = 7.85%) and reproducibility (RSD = 3.09%), as well as superior mechanical flexibility. Additionally, in situ measurements of malachite green (MG) on objects with diverse curvatures, including fish, apple, and blueberry, are conducted using a portable Raman system, revealing a consistent SERS enhancement. Furthermore, a robust linear relationship (R2 ≥ 0.990) between Raman intensity and the logarithmic concentration of MG detected from these objects is achieved. These results demonstrate the tremendous potential of the developed curvature-insensitive SERS substrate as a point-of-care testing (POCT) platform for identifying analytes on irregular objects.

Octupole plasmon resonance improves light enhancement by a metal nanodimer.

Metal nanoparticles are extensively used in science and technology to resonantly confine and enhance optical fields. Highest enhancement factors are achieved in nanosized gaps of metal dimers. It is commonly assumed that higher-order plasmon resonances, such as electric quadrupole and octupole, are in nanoparticles much weaker than a dipole resonance. Indeed, in the classical multipole expansion that deals with the scattered fields, these "dark" multipoles can be invisible. In this work, we show that an octupole resonance in a metal nanodimer can lead to a substantially larger field enhancement than a dipole resonance. The effect is explained by the fact that the near-field enhancement provided by the excited electric currents can be strong when the excitation is dark. This finding extends the design principles of a plasmonic nanostructure toward higher-order multipoles that, being naturally narrowband, can be useful for a variety of applications, especially in plasmonic sensing and detection.

Flexible silver nanoparticle@aramid nanofiber SERS substrates fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering for rapid detection of toxic substances

Aramid nanofibers (ANFs) have gained great interest as promising polymer substrates for various applications because of their exceptional mechanical properties, high aspect ratio, large specific surface area and excellent chemical and thermal stability. However, the use of ANFs as nano-sized functional substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing applications has been scarcely reported. In this research, ANF membranes fabricated by vacuum-filtration are served as SERS matrix materials. The silver nanoparticle-coated ANF (AgNP@ANF) membranes are fabricated by a facile, cost-effective, environmental-friendly, and scalable magnetron sputtering technique. Different sputtering times from 15 to 120 s have been studied for AgNP@ANF substrates in terms of their SERS performance. The optimal AgNP-90@ANF SERS substrate exhibits good detection sensitivity of 10−10 M for malachite green (MG), high enhancement factor of 7.7×108 and prominent signal reproducibility (RSD=5.87%), as well as impressive storage stability. Furthermore, the AgNP@ANF SERS substrates also demonstrated excellent detection capability for methylene blue and crystal violet, with sensitivities of 10−10 and 10−9 M, respectively. Besides, the flexible AgNP@ANF SERS substrate can also be used to rapidly detect pesticide residues on uneven surfaces through a facile paste-and-read treatment. The simple-to-manufacture, inexpensive, scalable, and sensitive AgNPs@ANF sensors are very promising for commercial SERS applications in the future.

Effect of Crystallinity on the Field Emission Characteristics of Carbon Nanotube Grown on W-Co Bimetallic Catalyst.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) is an excellent field emission material. However, uniformity and stability are the key issues hampering its device application. In this work, a bimetallic W-Co alloy was adopted as the catalyst of CNT in chemical vapor deposition process. The high melting point and stable crystal structure of W-Co helps to increase the grown CNT diameter uniformity and homogeneous crystal structure. High-crystallinity CNTs were grown on the W-Co bimetallic catalyst. Its field emission characteristics demonstrated a low turn-on field, high current density, stable current stability, and uniform emission distribution. The Fowler-Nordheim (FN) and Seppen-Katamuki (SK) analyses revealed that the CNT grown on the W-Co catalyst has a relatively low work function and high field enhancement factor. The high crystallinity and homogeneous crystal structure of CNT also reduce the body resistance and increase the emission current stability and maximum current. The result provides a way to synthesis a high-quality CNT field emitter, which will accelerate the development of cold cathode vacuum electronic device application.

Spontaneous increasing of sensitivity and resolution in parahydrogen-induced hyperpolarization by RASER

Enhancing the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology has been the focus of NMR research for decades, which offers the potential to significantly expand its applications in chemistry, biology, and medical imaging. Parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) emerges as a cost-effective approach to substantially enhance the sensitivity of NMR. Nevertheless, the amplification of the 1H signal in PHIP is susceptible to interference from the thermal polarization state 1H NMR signal. Employing RASER (radiofrequency amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) proves effective in mitigating such interference, which can reduce the linewidth and increase the sensitivity at the same time. In this work, we utilized PHIP and RASER to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a series of biocompatible alkynyl organic acid molecules. The alkynyl acid with the highest enhancement factor was first identified through PASADENA (parahydrogen and synthesis allow dramatically enhanced nuclear alignment) experiments. Subsequently, RASER experiments were carried out through hyperpolarization of 5-hexynoic acid, exploring its signal characteristics under varying flow rates and pressures. The SNR of proton signals of 5-hexynoic acid surpassed 150,000, an 18.62-fold improvement compared with traditional hyperpolarized signals in PASADENA, and a markedly narrowed linewidth of 0.06 Hz.

Flexible SERS sensor based on the photodecoration of Au-NPs on Co3O4 NWs/carbon fiber cloth for the ultrasensitive detection of methylene blue in the curved fish surfaces

BackgroundDevelopment of flexible platform via the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technique has gained enormous attention as a low-cost and portable substrate for a wide range application. In particular, the fabrication of semiconductors and tuning their surface morphologies with plasmonic nanoparticles are considered to be a fascinating strategy to create numerous hotspots to yield superior SERS enhancement. ResultsThis work involved fabricating a flexible SERS active substrate using the carbon fiber cloth (CFC), which is hydrothermally grown with cobalt oxide nanowires (Co3O4 NWs) and photodecorated with plasmonic gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) for the ultrasensitive detection of organic dye, methylene blue (MB). The proposed substrate exhibits high enhancement factor (4.5 × 1010), low limit of detection (1.42 × 10−10 M), good uniformity (6.27 %), superior reproducibility (6.30 %) and demonstrate an excellent mechanical strength up to 40 cycles towards the MB detection. The residues of the MB are directly detected on the fish surfaces by adopting a facile swab-sampling technique. Additionally, the proposed flexible SERS sensor exhibit a successful photodegradation of MB at 90 min under UVC light irradiation. Significance and noveltyThe proposed flexible SERS methodology for detecting MB in the curved surfaces exhibited a superior SERS enhancement owing to the synergistic effect raised from the Co3O4 NWs (chemical enhancement) and Au NPs (electromagnetic enhancement). These findings indicate that the CFC-based flexible SERS sensor is a promising candidate for detecting various organic pollutants in real-time and on non-planar surfaces.

Potential of a deep eutectic solvent in silver nanoparticle fabrication for antibiotic residue detection.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have recently emerged as an alternative solvent for nanoparticle synthesis. There have been numerous advancements in the fabrication of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), but the potential of DESs in Ag NP synthesis was neither considered nor studied carefully. In this study, we present a novel strategy to fabricate Ag NPs in a DES (Ag NPs-DES). The DES composed of ᴅ-glucose, urea, and glycerol does not contain any anions to precipitate with Ag+ cations. Our Ag NPs-DES sample is used in a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor. The two analytes for SERS quantitation are nitrofurantoin (NFT) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) whose residues can be traced down to 10-8 M. The highest enhancement factors (EFs) are competitive at 6.29 × 107 and 1.69 × 107 for NFT and SDZ, respectively. Besides, the linearity coefficients are extremely close to 1 in the range of 10-8 to 10-3 M of concentration, and the SERS substrate shows remarkable uniformity along with great selectivity. This powerful SERS performance indicates that DESs have tremendous potential in the synthesis of nanomaterials for biosensor substrate construction.