Multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling system for efficient enrichment and ultrasensitive label-free SERS detection of bilirubin based on graphene oxide-Au nanostars and Au@Ag nanoparticles

Wenshi Zhao; Shuo Yang; Daxin Zhang; Tianxiang Zhou; Jie Huang; Ming Gao; Xiaolong Zhang; Yang Liu; Jinghai Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.117

Multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling system for efficient enrichment and ultrasensitive label-free SERS detection of bilirubin based on graphene oxide-Au nanostars and Au@Ag nanoparticles

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Sep 15:646:872-882. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.117. Epub 2023 May 22.

Authors

Wenshi Zhao¹, Shuo Yang², Daxin Zhang¹, Tianxiang Zhou³, Jie Huang³, Ming Gao³, Xiaolong Zhang³, Yang Liu⁴, Jinghai Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, PR China; Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China.
² College of Science, Changchun University, Changchun 130022, PR China.
³ Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, PR China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, PR China. Electronic address: liuyang@jlnu.edu.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, PR China. Electronic address: jhyang1@jlnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37235933
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.117

Abstract

Rapid and sensitive detection of free bilirubin (BR) is essential for early diagnosis of jaundice and other hepatobiliary diseases. Inspired by sandwich immunoassay strategy, a multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling SERS platform composed of graphene oxide-Au nanostars nanocomposites (GANS NCs) and Au@Ag nanoparticles (NPs) was designed for label-free detection of BR. Specifically, GANS NCs were first prepared, and their excellent SERS activity was ascribed to synergistic enhancement effect of electromagnetic enhancement and chemical enhancement. Furthermore, SERS spectroscopy was used to monitor the adsorption process of BR. Subsequently, secondary reinforcing Au@Ag NPs were directly added, ultimately resulting in a multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling effect. The SERS enhancing mechanism of coupled system was discussed through electromagnetic field simulations. Interestingly, the high-density hotspots generated by strong plasmonic coupling in GANS-Au@Ag substrate could lead to more extraordinary SERS enhancing behavior compared to GANS NCs. Sensing efficiency of the SERS platform was examined by BR with a detection limit down to 10^-11 M. Besides, GANS-Au@Ag NCs performed high uniformity and reproducibility. This work not only opens up a new avenue for construction of multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling system, but also offers a new biosensing technology for label-free diagnosis of BR-related diseases, thereby expecting to be applied in clinical diagnosis.

Keywords: Bilirubin detection; Graphene oxide-Au nanostars; Multi-dimensional plasmonic coupling system; Secondary reinforcing Au@Ag NPs; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).

MeSH terms

Bilirubin
Gold / chemistry
Metal Nanoparticles* / chemistry
Reproducibility of Results
Silver / chemistry
Spectrum Analysis, Raman / methods

Substances

graphene oxide
Bilirubin
Silver
Gold