Key Laboratory for Bionic Engineering of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130025, PR China; Department of Chemistry, Institute for Molecular Science and Fusion Technology, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 24341, Republic of Korea; State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China.
Key Laboratory for Bionic Engineering of Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130025, PR China.
Talanta. 2019 Apr 1;195:221-228. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2018.11.040. Epub 2018 Nov 24.
In this work, we report a simple strategy to improve the detection sensitivity as well as the spectral quality of probe molecules on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. On normal SERS substrates, due to the decreased absorption capacity and changes in the molecule orientations, SERS signals disappear when the analyte molecule concentrations reach a limit value. To solve this problem, the molecular template reagent (MTR) technique, a simple strategy based on SERS surface selection rules, is considered. By choosing the best MTR according to different samples, the effect of adjusting the molecular orientations of samples can be studied. In this process, 1-butanethiol, 1-hexanethiol, 1-octanethiol, 1-decanethiol, and 1-dodecanethiol, which are MTRs, are used to adjust the orientations of probe molecules under optimized conditions. The use of the MTR technique indicated that the limit of detection (LOD) of the probe molecules of p-aminobenzenethiol and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid on noble metal substrates showed an increase of one order of magnitude over the LOD of the pure probing molecule systems. Hence, the proposed method introduces a way to detect the molecules with an improved sensitivity at extremely low concentrations. The study corresponds to a proof-of-concept study of MTR-assisted SERS for SERS-based applications in ultrasensitive analyses.
在这项工作中，我们报告了一种简单的策略，可提高探针分子在表面增强拉曼散射（SERS）基底上的检测灵敏度和光谱质量。在普通的 SERS 基底上，由于吸收能力降低和分子取向的变化，当分析物分子浓度达到极限值时，SERS 信号会消失。为了解决这个问题，人们考虑了分子模板试剂（MTR）技术，这是一种基于 SERS 表面选择规则的简单策略。通过根据不同的样品选择最佳的 MTR，可以研究调整样品分子取向的效果。在这个过程中，使用了 1-丁硫醇、1-己硫醇、1-辛硫醇、1-癸硫醇和 1-十二硫醇等 MTR 来优化条件下调整探针分子的取向。MTR 技术的使用表明，在贵金属基底上，对氨基苯硫醇和 4-巯基苯甲酸探针分子的检测限（LOD）比纯探测分子体系的 LOD 提高了一个数量级。因此，该方法为在极低浓度下提高分子检测灵敏度提供了一种途径。这项研究对应于 MTR 辅助 SERS 在基于 SERS 的超灵敏分析中的应用的概念验证研究。
