Electronic and vibrational Raman scattering in resonance with yellow luminescence transitions in GaN on sapphire substrate

We analyze low-temperature Raman and photoluminescence spectra of MBE-grown GaN layers on sapphire. Strong and sharp Raman peaks are observed in the low frequency region. These peaks, which are enhanced by excitation in resonance with yellow luminescence transitions, are attributed to electronic transitions related to shallow donor levels in hexagonal GaN. It is proposed that a low frequency Raman peak at 11.7 meV is caused by a pseudo-local vibration mode related to defects involved in yellow luminescence transitions. The dependence of the photoluminescence spectra on temperature gives additional information about the residual impurities in these GaN layers.

Fabrication, characterization, and application in surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of assembled type-I collagen-silver nanoparticle multilayered films

In this paper, we report a facile method for the fabrication of type-I collagen-silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) multilayered films by utilizing type-I collagen as a medium. These samples were characterized by UV-vis spectra photometer, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform IR spectrum. Experimental results show that collagen molecules serve as effective templates to assemble Ag NPs into multilayer films. These samples exhibit high surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement abilities.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering of brilliant green on ag nanoparticles and applications in living cells as optical probes

In this article, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of different concentrations of brilliant green (13G) on Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) has been investigated. The results indicate that only 10(-12) M BG can be detected on AgNPs while as low as 10(-11) M BG can be detected upon the activation of AgNPs by chloride ions. The additional improvement of the detection of BG mainly derives from the increase of the electromagnetic field around AgNPs and partially from the reorientation of BG on AgNPs induced by chloride ions, which was proved by the different spectra feature in the two systems. Adsorption of BG on AgNPs has also been demonstrated in applications of living cells as optical probes based on SERS, indicating that dye-AgNPs can probe the local environment in the living cells. The related cytotoxicity measurements demonstrated that BG-AgNPs produced little cytotoxicity to the cells, which shows great potential in biornedical applications of BG labeled-AgNPs for SERS nanosensors in cells as optical probes. Meanwhile, SERS spectra of BG on AgNPs in the presence chloride ions are expected to be used in living cells as more sensitive optical probes.

Rectangular Silver Nanorods: Controlled Preparation, Liquid-Liquid Interface Assembly, and Application in Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

In this paper, we for the first time report a polyol method for large-scale synthesis of rectangular silver nanorods in the presence of directing agent and seeds. This method has some clear advantages including simplicity, high quality, and ease of scaleup. Silver nanowires or silver nanorods with a submicrometer diameter could also be facilely prepared when the reaction parameters are slightly changed. Furthermore, a liquid-liquid assembly strategy has been employed to construct uniform rectangular silver nanorod arrays on a solid substrate which could be used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with high SERS activity, stability, and reproducibility. It is found that the SERS spectra obtained from the probe molecules with the different concentrations show different SERS intensifies. As the concentration of 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) or rhodamine 6G (R6G) increases, the SERS intensities progressively increase. The enhancement factor for 4-ATP and R6G should be as large as 5.06 x 10(4) or much larger than the value of 5.06 x 10(8), respectively.

Silver nanoparticles coated with adenine: preparation, self-assembly and application in surface-enhanced Raman scattering

We describe herein the preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using nucleobase adenine as protecting agent through the in situ chemical reduction of AgNO3 with NaBH4 in an aqueous medium at room temperature. As-prepared AgNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectra, transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. All these data confirmed the formation of AgNPs. On the basis of electrostatic interactions between as-prepared AgNPs and anionic polyelectrolyte poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS), we successfully fabricated (PSS/AgNP)n (n = 0-9) multilayers on a 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane/AgNP functionalized indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate via the layer-by-layer self-assembly technique and characterized as-formed multilayers with UV-visible spectra. Furthermore, these ITO substrates coated with multilayers of different thickness were investigated as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrates using p-aminothiophenol as a probe molecule, implying that these multilayers substrates may be promising for a new type of SERS-active substrate.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering of brilliant green on ag nanoparticles and applications in living cells as optical probes

In this article, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of different concentrations of brilliant green (13G) on Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) has been investigated. The results indicate that only 10(-12) M BG can be detected on AgNPs while as low as 10(-11) M BG can be detected upon the activation of AgNPs by chloride ions. The additional improvement of the detection of BG mainly derives from the increase of the electromagnetic field around AgNPs and partially from the reorientation of BG on AgNPs induced by chloride ions, which was proved by the different spectra feature in the two systems. Adsorption of BG on AgNPs has also been demonstrated in applications of living cells as optical probes based on SERS, indicating that dye-AgNPs can probe the local environment in the living cells. The related cytotoxicity measurements demonstrated that BG-AgNPs produced little cytotoxicity to the cells, which shows great potential in biornedical applications of BG labeled-AgNPs for SERS nanosensors in cells as optical probes. Meanwhile, SERS spectra of BG on AgNPs in the presence chloride ions are expected to be used in living cells as more sensitive optical probes.

Templated assembly of gold nanoparticles into microscale tubules and their application in surface-enhanced Raman scattering

We report a simple procedure to assemble gold nanoparticles into hollow tubular morphology with micrometer scale, wherein the citrate molecule is used not only as a reducing and capping agent, but also as an assembling template. The nanostructure and growth mechanism of microtubes are explored via SEM, TEM, FTIR spectra, and UV-vis spectra studies. The incorporation of larger gold nanoparticles by electroless plating results in an increase in the diameter of microtubes from 900 nm to about 1.2 mu m. The application of the microtubes before and after electroless plating in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is investigated by using 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) as probe molecules. The results indicate that the microtubes both before and after electroless plating can be used as SERS substrates. The microtubes after electroless plating exhibit excellent enhancement ability.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of microperoxidase-11 on roughed silver electrodes

The conformation of microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) adsorbed on roughened silver electrodes was studied using surface-enhanced Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that MP-11 was initially adsorbed via its polypeptide chain with a alpha-helix conformation, as indicated by the enhancement of the characteristic bands related to the amides I and III. The weak resonance effect of the porphyrin macrocycle in the near IR region contributes to the spectrum of the heme group. The presence of imidazole as the sixth ligand to the heme iron influences the conformation of the polypeptide chain of MP-11 on the electrode surface. Evaporation of solvent water results in an opened conformation of the adsorbed MP-11. which allows the heme group to contact the electrode surface directly.

Surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopic study of yeast iso-1-cytochrome c and its mutant

The structural stability and redox properties of yeast iso-1-cytochrome c and its mutant, F82H, were studied by surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) spectroscopy. Phenylalanine, which exists at the position-82 in yeast iso-1-cytochrome c, is replaced by histidine in the mutant. The SERRS spectra of the proteins on the bare silver electrodes indicate that the mutant possesses a more stable global structure with regard to the adsorption-induced conformational alteration. The redox potential of the mutant negatively shifts by about 400 mV, relative to that of yeast iso-1-cytochrome c. This is ascribed to axial ligand switching and higher solvent accessibility of the heme iron in the mutant during the redox reactions.

Application of resonance raman spectroscopy to study the effect of rare-earth ion Er3+ on myoglobin

The effect of rare-earth ion Er3+ On myoglobin(Mb) was studied by using Resonance Raman spectroscopy. The results show that with the variation of Er3+ concentrations, both the oxidation state and spin state of Mb are sensitive to the perturbation of Er3+. Er3+ added to Mb affects the oxidation and spin state synchronously. The structure-sensitive groups of Mb are more accessible to the Er3+ than other groups. According to the fluorometry and CD spectra studied and our results as mentioned above, we considered that Er3+ does not interact with heme directly, and Er3+ probably leads to the conformational changes of Mb due to the change of oxidation and spin state of Heme.

Circular dichroism and resonance Raman comparative studies of wild type cytochrome c and F82H mutant

The UV-visible, circular dichroism (CD), and resonance Raman (RR) spectra of the wild type yeast iso-1-cytochrome c (WT) and its mutant F82H in which phenylalanine-82 (Phe-82) is substituted with His are measured and compared for oxidized and reduced forms. The CD spectra in the intrinsic and Soret spectral region, as well as RR spectra in high, middle, and low frequency regions, are discussed. From the analysis of the spectra, it is determined that in the oxidized F82H the two axial ligands to the heme iron are His-18 and His-82 whereas in the reduced form the sixth ligand switches from His-82 to Met-80 providing the coordination geometry similar to that of WT. Based on the spectroscopic data, the conclusion is that the porphyrin macrocycle is less distorted in the oxidized F82H compared to the oxidized WT. Similar distortions are present in the reduced form of the proteins. Frequency shifts of Raman bands, as well as the decrease of the or-helix content in the CD spectra, indicate more open conformation of the protein around the heme. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2D NMR and FT-Raman spectroscopic studies on the interaction of lanthanide ions and Ln-DTPA with phospholipid bilayers

The interactions of lanthanide ions and the Ln-DTPA (DTPA = diethylenetriaminepentaacetate) complex with di palmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE) bilayers are studied by 2D NOESY and FT-Raman spectroscopy. Proton NMR spectroscopic results show that lanthanide ions combine with phosphate groups in the polar region of the outer layer of DPPC liposomes, leading to the separation in chemical shift of the proton signal of N(CH3)(3) The conformational change of the O-C-C-N+ backbone from the gauche conformer to the trans one is not found; i.e., the orientation of the polar headgroup is still parallel to the surface of the bilayers. The Ln-DTPA complex at low concentration in a pH 7.4 solution localizes far away from bilayers and thereby has little effect on the structure of bilayers. The FT-Raman spectroscopic results indicate that lanthanide ions affect strongly the fluidity of acyl chains of DPPE bilayers while the Ln-DTPA complex affects it slightly.

SYNTHESIS OF A NEW CHIRAL LIQUID-CRYSTAL WITH SCHIFF-BASE GROUP AND INVESTIGATION OF TEMPERATURE-DEPENDING FTIR SPECTRA

A new chiral liquid crystal with Schiff base group has been prepared, The structure of liquid crystal was confirmed by elementary analyses and H-1 NMR. Its phase transition was investigated by polarized optical microscope, DSC and temperature-depending FTIR spectra. The results showed that the chiral Schiff base showed monotropic phases behavior in certain temperature range, the phase sequence is I-N-*-S-B-S-G-K on the cooling sequence.

RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF LAYER STRUCTURE COMPOUND [N-CNH2N+1NH3]2ZNCL4

The C-H stretching, C-H bending, C-C stretching and the low-frequency vibration regions have been investigated by Raman spectroscopy for [n-CnH2n+1NH3]2 ZnCl4 with n=7 approximately 12, 16. It is found that their frequency and relative intensities are related to the length of carbon chain in the molecules and present the odd-even effect to carbon atom numbers in chain. Some changes in spectra are interpreted in terms of the different molecular packing and interaction of chain.

RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF THE PEROVSKITE LAYER STRUCTURE COMPOUNDS - [N-CNH2N+1NH3]2ZNCL4

The C-H stretching, C-H bending, C-C stretching and the low-frequency vibrational regions have been investigated by Raman spectroscopy for [n-CnH2n+1NH3]2ZnCl4 with n = 7-12, 16. The frequencies and relative intensities are related to the length of the carbon chain in the molecules and present the odd-even effect of the carbon atom numbers in the chains. Some changes in the spectra are interpreted in terms of the different molecular packing.