title: In situ detection of pterins by SERS.
abstract: Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been used to detect specific pterin molecules at sub-nanomolar concentrations. SERS is fast becoming a widely used technique for the sensitive and specific detection of multiple analytes. The information-rich and concentration-dependent spectra obtained from SERS make the technique ideally placed for high speed, low cost analysis of almost any analyte. Further, to show the feasibility of SERS in the detection of biologically relevant targets, a synthetic pterin analogue of the naturally occurring pterin cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin, has been detected at a series of concentrations and the method used for the successful detection of the synthetic pterin in mouse serum. In this analysis, spectroscopic collection was optimized for water-based pteridine derivatives using two visible wavelengths of excitation (514.5 and 632.8 nm) and differing mesoscopic metal nanoparticles allowing the limits of detection to be calculated.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular Nanometrology, WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK G1 1XL.
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: MacMillan
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Faulds
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wadsworth
authors.forename: Suma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kunuthur
authors.forename: Colin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Suckling
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Graham
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008297:Male; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D011622:Pterins / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011622:Pterins