pH-Triggered Molecular Alignment for Reproducible SERS Detection via an AuNP/Nanocellulose Platform

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dc.contributor.authorWei, Haoranen
dc.contributor.authorVikesland, Peter J.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2017-11-13T19:43:19Zen
dc.date.available2017-11-13T19:43:19Zen
dc.date.issued2015-12-11en
dc.description.abstractThe low affinity of neutral and hydrophobic molecules towards noble metal surfaces hinders their detection by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Herein, we present a method to enhance gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surface affinity by lowering the suspension pH below the analyte pKa. We developed an AuNP/bacterial cellulose (BC) nanocomposite platform and applied it to two common pollutants, carbamazepine (CBZ) and atrazine (ATZ) with pKa values of 2.3 and 1.7, respectively. Simple mixing of the analytes with AuNP/BC at pH < pKa resulted in consistent electrostatic alignment of the CBZ and ATZ molecules across the nanocomposite and highly reproducible SERS spectra. Limits of detection of 3 nM and 11 nM for CBZ and ATZ, respectively, were attained. Tests with additional analytes (melamine, 2,4-dichloroaniline, 4-chloroaniline, 3-bromoaniline, and 3-nitroaniline) further illustrate that the AuNP/BC platform provides reproducible analyte detection and quantification while avoiding the uncontrolled aggregation and flocculation of AuNPs that often hinder low pH detection.en
dc.description.sponsorshipFunding for this study was provided by the US National Science Foundation (NSF; CBET 1236005) and the Virginia Tech Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science. Support for HW was provided by the Virginia Tech Graduate School through the Sustainable Nanotechnology Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (VTSuN IGEP). Additional funding was provided by NSF and the Environmental Protection Agency under NSF Cooperative Agreement EF-0830093, Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology (CEINT).en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/srep18131en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/80364en
dc.identifier.volume5en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNatureen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.titlepH-Triggered Molecular Alignment for Reproducible SERS Detection via an AuNP/Nanocellulose Platformen
dc.title.serialScientific Reportsen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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