Probing Multidimensional Structural Information of Single Molecules Transporting through a Sub-10 nm Conical Plasmonic Nanopore by SERS

Anal Chem. 2021 Aug 31;93(34):11679-11685. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00875. Epub 2021 Aug 20.

Abstract

Probing the orientation and oxygenation state of single molecules (SMs) is of great importance for understanding the advanced structure of individual molecules. Here, we manipulate molecules transporting through the hot spot of a sub-10 nm conical gold nanopore and acquire the multidimensional structural information of the SMs by surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection. The sub-10 nm size and conical shape of the plasmonic nanopore guarantee its high detection sensitivity. SERS spectra show a high correlation with the orientations of small-sized single rhodamine 6G (R6G) during transport. Meanwhile, SERS spectra of a single hemoglobin (Hb) reveal both the vertical/parallel orientations of the porphyrin ring and oxygenated/deoxygenated states of Hb. The present study provides a new strategy for bridging the primary sequence and the advanced structure of SMs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Gold
  • Metal Nanoparticles*
  • Nanopores*
  • Nanotechnology
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman

Substances

  • Gold