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Ag-Deposited Porous Silicon as a SERS-Active Substrate for the Sensitive Detection of Catecholamine Neurotransmitters

  • Original Article - Nanomaterials
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Abstract

The sensitive detection of various neurotransmitters is very useful in diagnosing diseases related to the dysfunction of the neurotransmitter system. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is one of the best methods for bio-analyte detection as it provides a molecular fingerprint at a trace concentration level. In this study, Ag-deposited porous silicon (Ag@pSi) was fabricated as a SERS-active substrate via metal-assisted chemical etching and electroless plating methods. Dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) neurotransmitters were tested as probing analytes. The Ag@pSi substrate demonstrated the sensitive detection of the neurotransmitters (DA and NE) over the wide concentration range (from 10‒6 to 10‒10 M), with a good linearity between the intensity of specific Raman peak and the log-scale concentration. The Ag@pSi substrate also distinguished the individual analytes in a mixture of DA and NE at 10‒8 M, confirming the efficacy of the developed SERS substrate for the selective detection of neurotransmitters.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Gachon University research fund of 2020 (GCU-202002730001), and also supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea [Grant No. 20194030202440].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deptarment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Gachon University, 1342 Seonnamdaero, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Republic of Korea

    Van-The Vo, Youngju Gwon & Sang-Wha Lee

  2. Future Materials and Devices Laboratory, Duy Tan University, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Viet Nam

    Viet-Duc Phung

  3. Faculty of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 55000, Viet Nam

    Viet-Duc Phung

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Health Science, Gachon University, Incheon, Republic of Korea

    Young-Don Son

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Gachon University College of Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, 21565, Republic of Korea

    Jong-Hoon Kim

  6. Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Incheon, 21565, Republic of Korea

    Jong-Hoon Kim

  7. Gachon Advanced Institute for Health Science and Technology, Gachon University, Incheon, 21565, Republic of Korea

    Jong-Hoon Kim

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  1. Van-The Vo
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Vo, VT., Gwon, Y., Phung, VD. et al. Ag-Deposited Porous Silicon as a SERS-Active Substrate for the Sensitive Detection of Catecholamine Neurotransmitters. Electron. Mater. Lett. 17, 292–298 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-021-00281-0

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