SERS as a tool for determination of structurally related drugs

Abstract

The analysis of compounds with high structural similarity (e.g., drugs of the same class) enables to simplify the analysis procedure and achieve its maximum versatility because such similarity often leads to similar chemical and spectral properties. For example, a universal sample pretreatment procedure can be easier developed for structurally related compounds than for compounds with significantly different structures. Moreover, although SERS spectra have a complex profile with many peaks, analytes with high structural similarity of moieties with active Raman vibrations can also have significant similarity in spectral profiles.
Unfortunately, most of modern SERS assays are focused on optimization of the registration conditions for determination of only one analyte. Moreover, SERS researchers often consider the similarity of spectral profiles only as a problem and focus on finding ways to overcome it. However, sometimes there is no need for precise analyte identification, e.g., the analysis of drugs in body fluids often requires only identification of the drug class because physiological effects of the representatives of the same class are similar.
Therefore, this work discusses our contributions to the directions mentioned above. As a result, SERS-based protocols for determination of structurally related antibiotics of different classes (sulfanilamide, cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone) were developed. Besides maximizing the assay versatility by thorough optimization of experimental conditions, the possibility to generate similar SERS spectra was investigated. Finally, all protocols have improved selectivity and are applicable for drugs determination in different human body fluids (urine, saliva, blood plasma) during therapeutic drug monitoring.
The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project 23-23-00236).

Speaker

Alexey V. Markin
Saratov State University
Russia

Discussion

Ask question