title: Rapid ultrasensitive single particle surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using metallic nanopores.
abstract: Nanopore sensors embedded within thin dielectric membranes have been gaining significant interest due to their single molecule sensitivity and compatibility of detecting a large range of analytes, from DNA and proteins, to small molecules and particles. Building on this concept we utilize a metallic Au solid-state membrane to translocate and rapidly detect single Au nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with 589 dye molecules using surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS). We show that, due to the plasmonic coupling between the Au metallic nanopore surface and the NP, signal intensities are enhanced when probing analyte molecules bound to the NP surface. Although not single molecule, this nanopore sensing scheme benefits from the ability of SERRS to provide rich vibrational information on the analyte, improving on current nanopore-based electrical and optical detection techniques. We show that the full vibrational spectrum of the analyte can be detected with ultrahigh spectral sensitivity and a rapid temporal resolution of 880 μs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cecchini
authors.forename: Aeneas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wiener
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Turek
authors.forename: Hyangh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chon
authors.forename: Sangyeop
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Aleksandar P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ivanov
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: McComb
authors.forename: Jaebum
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Stefan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Joshua B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Edel
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D058608:Nanopores; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D014732:Vibration
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D006046:Gold; D004247:DNA