Plasmonic Nanomaterials for Surface Enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical tool that could even permits the single molecule detection. Usually, the enhancement of Raman signals is explained with an Electromagnetic Mechanism, due to the interaction between an electromagnetic wave and the substrate to promote the excitation of a plasmonic mode. In many studies, noble metal particles are used as SERS substrates, however, the possibilities of exciting a plasmon mode are often reduced to one or a few wavelengths. The aim is to design multi-wavelength SERS active nanostructured substrates composed by noble metals of different size and shape. Probe molecules of biological interest will be employed at low concentrations (10-6-10-9M) to test the enhancement efficiency of prepared SERS substrates.