title: Label-Free SERS Selective Detection of Dopamine and Serotonin Using Graphene-Au Nanopyramid Heterostructure.
abstract: Ultrasensitive detection and spatially resolved mapping of neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin, are critical to facilitate understanding brain functions and investigate the information processing in neural networks. In this work, we demonstrated single molecule detection of dopamine and serotonin using a graphene-Au nanopyramid heterostructure platform. The quasi-periodic Au structure boosts high-density and high-homogeneity hotspots resulting in ultrahigh sensitivity with a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) enhancement factor ∼10(10). A single layer graphene superimposed on a Au structure not only can locate SERS hot spots but also modify the surface chemistry to realize selective enhancement Raman yield. Dopamine and serotonin could be detected and distinguished from each other at 10(-10) M level in 1 s data acquisition time without any pretreatment and labeling process. Moreover, the heterostructure realized nanomolar detection of neurotransmitters in the presence of simulated body fluids. These findings represent a step forward in enabling in-depth studies of neurological processes including those closely related to brain activity mapping (BAM).
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California Nano Systems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1595, United States.
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California Nano Systems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1595, United States.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California Nano Systems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1595, United States.
authors.forename: Owen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California Nano Systems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1595, United States.|WaferTech, LLC , 5509 NW Parker St., Camas, Washington 98607, United States.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Riverside , Riverside, California 92521, United States.
authors.forename: Aaron F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Cipriano
authors.affiliation: Innovations for High Performance (IHP) , Im Technologiepark 25, Frankfurt (Oder) D-15236, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California at Riverside , Riverside, California 92521, United States.
authors.forename: Huinan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California Nano Systems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1595, United States.
authors.forename: Ya-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D004298:Dopamine / Q000032:analysis*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D012701:Serotonin / Q000032:analysis*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D006046:Gold; D006108:Graphite; D004298:Dopamine