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Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Pushing the limits

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In 1997, Kneipp et al. and Nie and Emory independently reported the first examples of single-molecule detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). These seminal works sparked a surge of interest in SERS, while introducing a new question: how can it be conclusively proven that just one molecule is being probed?

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Fig. 1: Simulated results to demonstrate the evidence for single-molecule detection.

References

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Acknowledgements

G.Q.W. acknowledges support from the Leverhulme Trust, RPG-2020-400.

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  1. Centre for Molecular Nanometrology, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

    Gregory Q. Wallace & Duncan Graham

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  1. Gregory Q. Wallace
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  2. Duncan Graham
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Correspondence to Duncan Graham.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Wallace, G.Q., Graham, D. Pushing the limits. Nat Rev Chem 6, 842–843 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-022-00444-z

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