title: Biological pH sensing based on surface enhanced Raman scattering through a 2-aminothiophenol-silver probe.
abstract: We report pH sensing for biological applications based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from silver nanoparticles functionalized with 2-aminothiophenol (2-aminobenzenethiol, 2-ABT). pH-dependent SERS spectra of the attached 2-ABT molecules enable one to sense the pH over the range of 3.0-8.0. We have performed the first demonstration of SERS detection in living cells kept in different pH buffer solutions and show that the pH sensitivity is retained in that case. Thus, the nanoparticles can be used as probes delivering spatially localized chemical information from biological environments and provide a new way to monitor chemical changes at cellular level.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, United States.
authors.forename: Zhuyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Adela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonoiu
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samoc
authors.forename: Yiping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Paras N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Prasad
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; C005464:2-aminothiophenol; D012834:Silver