Single-Molecule Monitoring of Nucleic Acid Dynamics Using Raman Correlation Spectroscopy in Plasmonic Nanowells.

ABSTRACT: Label-free monitoring of single molecules by single-molecule surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SM-SERS) in plasmonic nanopores can track the molecular dynamics and gain insight into its internal mechanism for applications including catalysis and sequencing. However, challenges including unstable plasmonic hot spot, fast molecule movement, and citrate interference hinder the SM-SERS data analysis and biomedical applications. In this study, we report a new SM-SERS method by sticking a single gold nanoparticle in a gold nanowell in air to generate a fixed plasmonic gap-mode hot spot on the particle surface for continuous single-molecule readout and long-term monitoring of DNA diffusion. The unlimited resident time of the DNA in the hot spot revealed unidirectional and back-and-forth diffus

SUBMITTER: Xin P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12574212 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature