SERS-based plasmonic nanobiosensing in single living cells

In this paper, we describe the development and application of a pH-sensitive plasmonics-active fiber-optic nanoprobe suitable for intracellular bioanalysis in single living human cells using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection. The effectiveness and usefulness of SERS-based fiber-optic nanoprobes are illustrated by measurements of intracellular pH in HMEC-15/hTERT immortalized normal human mammary epithelial cells and PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. The results indicate that fiber-optic nanoprobe insertion and interrogation provide a sensitive and selective means to monitor cellular microenvironments at the single cell level.