title: Hydrophobicity-driven self-assembly of protein and silver nanoparticles for protein detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering.
abstract: Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a promising analytical technique for the detection and characterization of biological molecules and structures. The role of hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces in the self-assembly of protein-metallic nanoparticle structures for label-free protein detection is demonstrated. Aggregation is driven by both the hydrophobicity of the surface as well as the charge of the proteins. The best conditions for obtaining a reproducible SERS signal that allows for sensitive, label-free protein detection are provided by the use of hydrophobic surfaces and 16 × 10(11) NPs per mL. A detection limit of approximately 0.5 μg mL(-1) is achieved regardless of the proteins' charge properties and size. The developed method is simple and can be used for reproducible and sensitive detection and characterization of a wide variety of biological molecules and various structures with different sizes and charge status.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. mkahraman@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kahraman
authors.forename: Ben N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Balz
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wachsmann-Hogiu
mesh_terms: D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D012834:Silver