August 14, 2013

Molecular Sieves For SERS



Analytical Chemistry: Sharp-tipped gold nanoparticles embedded in a thin porous film help researchers spot a small molecule mixed in with large proteins

When analytical chemists want to detect small organic molecules in biological samples, they have to contend with proteins and nucleic acids. These large biomolecules often get in the way during analysis. Now, researchers report a thin-film material that acts as a molecular sieve, filtering out the large molecules and allowing small ones through for detection by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/jz4014085).