Gap-Enhanced Resonance Raman Tags for Bioimaging
Jian Ye
School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P.R. China
Abstract
Gap-enhanced Raman tags (GERTs) are emerging probes of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy that have found promising analytical, bioimaging, and theranostic applications [1-5]. Because of their internal location, Raman reporter molecules are protected from unwanted external environments and particle aggregation and demonstrate superior SERS responses owing to the strongly enhanced electromagnetic fields in the gaps between metal core–shell structures. However, long-term live-cell Raman bioimaging is limited due to the photodamage from a relatively long exposure time and a high laser power, which are needed for acquiring detectable Raman signals.
In this talk, we will briefly discuss recent progress in the synthesis, simulation, and experimental studies of the optical properties and biomedical applications of novel spherically symmetrical and anisotropic GERTs fabricated with common plasmonic metals—gold (Au) and silver (Ag). Next, we attempt to resolve this photodamage issue by developing ultrabright gap-enhanced resonance Raman tags (GERRTs), consisting of the petal-like Au core and Ag shell with near-infrared resonant reporters of IR-780 embedded in between, for long-term and high-speed live-cell imaging [6]. GERRTs exhibit the ultrahigh Raman intensity down to a single-nanoparticle level in the aqueous solution and solid state upon 785 nm excitation, allowing for high-resolution time-lapse live-cell Raman imaging with an exposure time of 1 ms per pixel and a laser power of 50 μW. Under this measurement condition, we can possibly capture dynamic cellular processes with a high temporal resolution, and track living cells for long periods of time owing to the reduced photodamage to cells. These nanotags open new opportunities for ultrasensitive, low-phototoxic, and long-term live-cell imaging.
REFERENCES
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Speaker
Jian Ye
School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P.R.
China
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