NEW ASSAY PLATFORMS AND DETECTION METHODOLOGY USING SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING (SERS) UPON SPECIFIC BIOCHEMICAL INTERACTIONS

摘要

The embodiments of the invention are directed to a SERS cluster comprising a capture particle that is at least partially surrounded by analyte molecules, wherein both the capture particle and the analyte molecules surrounding the capture particle are at least partially surrounded by enhancer particles, wherein a majority of the analyte molecules are either sandwiched between capture and enhancer particles or located between junctions of the enhancer particles. The embodiments of the invention also relate to methods of manufacturing and detecting the SERS cluster. The embodiments of the invention also relate to a SERS active particle comprising a tag molecule comprising a Raman active compound and a probe or a linker having a specific biochemical binding capability and to a method for detecting of a target molecule using a SERS active particle having a tag molecule comprising a Raman active compound and a probe or a linker.