SERS-Spectroscopy for Biosensing

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past fifteen years, we have been observing a drastic increase in the number of research papers on biosensing. Despite the fact that various principles (electrochemical, piezoelectric, thermal, magnetic, micromechanical, etc.) have been used to design biosensing systems, this tendency has been mostly caused by a contribution from works devoted to optical techniques of analysis combined with the unique capabilities of nanostructured materials. As of today, publications on the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy dominate the other optical methods. SERS-based biosensoring combines all of the benefits of ordinary Raman spectroscopy and significant sensitivity. It answers “Yes” or “No” to the question of whether there is a trace amount of target biomolecules in the analyte substance. This technique is able to reveal molecular fingerprints, i.e., to disclose molecular composition and structural changes. A pronounced SERS-effect takes place when the molecules of analyte are arranged near nanoparticles of metals. Considering the biosensing area of interest, SERS-spectroscopy has been subjected to reasonable doubt due to difficulties in catching target molecules in complex substances, the denaturation of proteomic analytes on nanostructures of coinage metals, molecule changes in ‘hot’ spots, the different orientation of macromolecules near the SERS-active surface, and the cytotoxicity of metallic nanoparticles for living cells.. This Special Issue aims to collect the state-of-the-art papers on the recent progress regarding how to overcome the above-mentioned hurdles of SERS-spectroscopy for biosensing. Emphasis should be placed on but not limited to breakthroughs in adaptation of SERS-active substrates for reliable in vivo and in vitro detection, identification, and the qualitative and quantitative study of diverse biologically substantial components. All novel aspects of the fabrication and characterization of SERS-active substrates, the non-conventional handling of SERS principles that allow reliable biosensing, new reports on the detection of any molecules via the combination of the SERS-active substrates, and biological compounds are most welcome. We encourage the preparation of not only research papers but also of review articles summarizing the application of SERS spectroscopy for biosensing in medical diagnosis/therapy, ecology, pharmaceutics, forensic science, and other spheres of human life. We would like to demonstrate that the SERS-technique comes closer to practical biomedical applications for ultrasensitive analysis and, therefore, to the analytical and life science instrumentation industry market.

Dr. Hanna Bandarenka
Dr. Andrey Kuzmin
Guest Editors

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• Surface-enhanced Raman scattering;
• Fabrication and characterization of SERS-active substrates;
• Ultrasensitive detection;
• Functionalization;
• Microfluidics;
• Label-free detection;
• Limit of detection;
• Biomolecules;
• Nucleic acids;
• Proteins and peptides;
• Enzymes;
• Lipids;
• Physiological fluids;
• Living cells;
• Medical diagnosis/therapy;
• Ecology, pharmaceutics;
• Forensic science.