Recent advances in nanotechnology and the biotechnology revolution have
created an immense opportunity for the use of noble metal nanoparticles as Surface
Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrates for biological sensing and diagnostics.
This is because SERS enhances the intensity of the Raman scattered signal from an
analyte by orders of 106 or more. This dissertation deals with the different aspects
involved in the application of SERS for biosensing. It discusses initial studies performed
using traditional chemically reduced silver colloidal nanoparticles for the SERS
detection of a myriad of proteins and nucleic acids. It examines ways to circumvent the
inherent aggregation problems associated with colloidal nanoparticles that frequently
lead to poor data reproducibility. The different methods examined to create robust SERS
substrates include the creation of thermally evaporated silver island films on microscope
glass slides, using the technique of Nanosphere Lithography (NSL) to create
hexagonally close packed periodic particle arrays of silver nanoparticles on glass
substrates as well as the use of optically tunable gold nanoshell films on glass substrates. The three different types of SERS surfaces are characterized using UV-Vis absorption
spectroscopy, Electron Microscopy (EM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) as well as
SERS using the model Raman active molecule trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (BPE).
Also discussed is ongoing work in the initial stages of the development of a SERS based
biosensor using gold nanoshell films for the direct detection of b-amyloid, the causative
agent for Alzheimer's disease. Lastly, the use of gold nanoshells as SERS substrates for
the intracellular detection of various biomolecules within mouse fibroblast cells in cell
culture is discussed. The dissertation puts into perspective how this study can represent
the first steps in the development of a robust gold nanoshell based SERS biosensor that
can improve the ability to monitor biological processes in real time, thus providing new
avenues for designing systems for the early diagnosis of diseases.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/4816 |
| Date | 25 April 2007 |
| Creators | Chowdhury, Mustafa Habib |
| Contributors | Cote, Gerard L. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 6476396 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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