title: Improving surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect using gold-coated hierarchical polystyrene bead substrates modified with postgrowth microwave treatment.
abstract: We report a novel postgrowth microwave heating implementation by selectively modifying hierarchical polystyrene (PS) bead substrates coated with gold (Au) films to effectively improve the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect on the analytes. The SERS signal of probe molecule rhodamine 6G (Rh 6G) on the microwave-treated Au-PS substrates can be improved by 10-fold, while the detection limit of Rh 6G in concentration can be enhanced by two orders of magnitude compared to the as-growth substrates. The high-quality SERS spectrum of saliva can also be acquired using the modified substrates, demonstrating the potential for the realization of the high-performance SERS substrates for biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: National University of Singapore, Bioimaging Laboratory, Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Singapore 117576.
authors.forename: Clement
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008863:Microspheres; D008872:Microwaves; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes; D012235:Rhodamines; C026188:rhodamine 6G; D006046:Gold