Hand-Held Raman Spectrometer-Based Dual Detection of Creatinine and Cortisol in Human Sweat Using Silver Nanoflakes

Anal Chem. 2021 Nov 16;93(45):14996-15004. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02496. Epub 2021 Nov 4.

Abstract

The conventional tissue biopsy method yields isolated snapshots of a narrow region. Therefore, it cannot facilitate comprehensive disease characterization and monitoring. Recently, the detection of tumor-derived components in body fluids─a practice known as liquid biopsy─has attracted increased attention from the biochemical research and clinical application viewpoints. In this vein, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been identified as one of the most powerful liquid-biopsy analysis techniques, owing to its high sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, it affords high-capacity spectral multiplexing for simultaneous target detection and a unique ability to obtain intrinsic biomolecule-fingerprint spectra. This paper presents the fabrication of silver nanosnowflakes (SNSFs) using the polyol method and their subsequent dropping onto a hydrophobic filter paper. The SERS substrate, which comprises the SNSFs and hydrophobic filter paper, facilitates the simultaneous detection of creatinine and cortisol in human sweat using a hand-held Raman spectrometer. The proposed SERS system affords Raman spectrometry to be performed on small sample volumes (2 μL) to identify the normal and at-risk creatinine and cortisol groups.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Creatinine
  • Humans
  • Hydrocortisone
  • Metal Nanoparticles*
  • Silver*
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman
  • Sweat

Substances

  • Silver
  • Creatinine
  • Hydrocortisone