Porous carbon films decorated with silver nanoparticles as a sensitive SERS substrate, and their application to virus identification

The authors report on the design of a new substrate for use in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). It is based on the use for porous carbon films decorated with silver nanoparticles. The porous carbon film was prepared through a template-driven route and made SERS-active via self-assembly with oil-soluble silver nanoparticles by hydrophobic interaction. Optimized sample was able to detect crystal violet at a low concentration of 1 x 10(-14) M, with good reproducibility (RSD = 17.0%). More importantly, the adsorbed signal molecules can be readily removed away by washing with organic solvents, obtaining a refresh substrate for the recyclable detection. Furthermore, the novel substrate was applied to the determination of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine parvovirus (PPV) and porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV). The detection limits are as low as 1 x 107 copy.mL(-1) for PCV2, PPV and PRV. SERS also enable differentiation of the viruses.