Circulating tumor cell identification by functionalized silver-gold nanorods with multicolor, super-enhanced SERS and photothermal resonances.

ABSTRACT: Nanotechnology has been extensively explored for cancer diagnostics. However, the specificity of current methods to identify simultaneously several cancer biomarkers is limited due to color overlapping of bio-conjugated nanoparticles. Here, we present a technique to increase both the molecular and spectral specificity of cancer diagnosis by using tunable silver-gold nanorods with narrow surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and high photothermal contrast. The silver-gold nanorods were functionalized with four Raman-active molecules and four antibodies specific to breast cancer markers and with leukocyte-specific CD45 marker. More than two orders of magnitude of SERS signal enhancement was observed from these hybrid nanosystems compared to conventional gold nanorods. Using an antibody ra

SUBMITTER: Nima ZA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4015134 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature