title: Highly sensitive and stable Ag@SiO2nanocubes for label-free SERS-photoluminescence detection of biomolecules.
abstract: Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and fluorescence microscopy are a widely used biological and chemical characterization techniques. However, the peak overlapping in multiplexed experiments and rapid photobleaching of fluorescent organic dyes is still the limitations. When compared to Ag nanocubes (NCs), higher SERS sensitivities can be obtained with thin shelled silica Ag@SiO2NCs, in contrast metal-enhanced photoluminescence (MEPL) is only found with NCs that have thicker silica shells. A 'dual functionality' represented by the simultaneous strengthening of SERS and MEPL signals can be achieved by mixing Ag@SiO2NCs, with a silica shell thickness of ~1.5nm and ~4.4nm. This approach allows both the Ag@SiO2NCs SERS and MEPL sensitivities to be maintained at ~90% after 12weeks of storage. Based on the distinguished detection of creatinine and flavin adenine dinucleotide in the mixture, the integration of SERS and MEPL together on a stable single plasmonic nanoparticle platform offers an opportunity to enhance both biomarker detection sensitivity and specificity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Minh-Kha
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Nien
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Hsiang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rick
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan; National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. Electronic address: bjh@mail.ntust.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Bing-Joe
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D003404:Creatinine / Q000032:analysis*; D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide / Q000032:analysis*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide; D012834:Silver; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D003404:Creatinine
keywords: Ag@SiO(2) nanocubes; Biomolecule detection; Dual functionality; Photoluminescence; SERS