Surface-enhanced Raman scattering for medical diagnostics and biological imaging

We present recent development and applications of a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology for use in medical diagnostics and biological imaging. For medical diagnostics, we use Raman-active dye-labeled DNA gene probes and nanostructured metallic substrates as SERS-active platforms. The surface-enhanced Raman gene probes can be used to detect DNA biotargets (e.g. gene sequences, bacteria and viral DNA) via hybridization to DNA sequences complementary to these probes. The SERS gene probes eliminate the need for radioactive labels and have great potential to provide both sensitivity, selectivity and label multiplexing for DNA sequencing and clinical assays. We also describe a hyperspectral surface-enhanced Raman imaging (HSERI) system that combines imaging capabilities with SERS detection to identify cellular components with high spatial and temporal resolution. The HSERI system's application to biological imaging is demonstrated using Raman dye-labeled silver nanoparticles in cellular systems. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.