Characterization and optimization of AuNPs labeled by Raman reporters on glass based on silver enhancement

In this report, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) labeled by Raman reporters (AuNPs-R6G) were assembled on glass and used as the seeds to in situ grow silver-coated nanostructures based on silver enhancer solution, forming the nanostructures of AuNPs-R6G@Ag, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy. More importantly, the obtained silver-coated nanostructures can be used as a surface enhancement Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. The different SERS activities can be controlled by the silver deposition time and assembly time of AuNPs-R6G on glass. The results indicate that the maximum SERS activity could be obtained on AuNPs-R6G when these nanostructures were assembled on glass for 2 h with silver deposition for 2 min.

Application of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) in control and formation of gold surface nanostructure through oxidation-reduction cycling

It was studied that the nanostructure formed on a gold surface via a simple oxidation-reduction cycles (ORC) in 0.1 M KCl containing Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) with different concentrations. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy-dispersed spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize the nanostructure formed on the gold surface. Sweep-step voltammetry and corresponding electroluminescence (ECL) response, in situ electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) measurement were used to monitor the ORC. procedure. It was found that the surface structure became more uniform in the presence of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+), and the surface roughness was decreasing with the increasing of Ru(bpY)(3)(2+) concentration, suggesting a simple and effective method to control the formation of nanostructure on the gold surface.

Interaction of scopolamine and cholesterol with sphingomyelin bilayers by FT-Raman spectroscopy

The interaction of scopolamine and cholesterol with sphingomyelin bilayers has been investigated by FT-Raman spectroscopy in head-group region (600-1000 cm(-1)), the C-C stretching (1000-1200 cm(-1)), CH2 deformation (1400-1500 cm(-1)) and the C-H stretching (2800-3000 cm(-1)) mode regions. The results indicate that scopolamine and cholesterol do not change the conformation of O-C-C-N+ backbone in the choline group of sphingomyelin bilayers, the polar headgroup is still extending parallel to the bilayer surface and O-C-C-N+ group is still in its gauche conformer. Scopolamine and cholesterol lower the order of the interface, the interchain, CH2 crystal lattices and the lateral chain-chain packing, and increase their fluidity.

Coke formation during the methanol conversion to olefins in zeolites studied by UV Raman spectroscopy

Coke formation on/in ZSM-5, USY and SAPO-34 zeolites was investigated during the methanol conversion to olefins at temperatures from 298 to 773 K using ultraviolet (UV) Raman spectroscopy. The fluorescence interference that usually obscures the Raman spectra of zeolites in the conventional Raman spectroscopy, particularly for coked catalysts, can be successfully avoided in the UV Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra are almost the same for adsorbed methanol on the three zeolites at room temperature. However, the Raman spectra of the surface species formed at elevated temperatures are quite different for the three zeolites. Coke species formed in/on SAPO-34 are mainly polyolefinic species, and in/on ZSM-5 are some aromatic species, but polyaromatic or substituted aromatic species are predominant in USY at high temperatures. Most of the coke species can be removed after a treatment with O-2 at 773 K, while some small amount of coke species always remains in these zeolites, particularly for USY. The main reason for the different behavior of coke formation in the three zeolites could be attributed to the different pore structures of the zeolites. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Identifying framework titanium in TS-1 zeolite by UV resonance Raman spectroscopy

Framework titanium in Ti-silicalite-1 (TS-1) zeolite was selectively identified by its resonance Raman bands using ultraviolet (W) Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra of the TS-1 and silicalite-1 zeolites were obtained and compared using continuous wave laser lines at 244, 325, and 488 nm as the excitation sources. It was only with the excitation at 244 nm that resonance enhanced Raman bands at 490, 530, and 1125 cm(-1) appeared exclusively for the TS-1 zeolite. Furthermore, these bands increased in intensity with the crystallization time of the TS-1 zeolite. The Raman bands at 490, 530, and 1125 cm(-1) are identified as the framework titanium species because they only appeared when the laser excites the charge-transfer transition of the framework titanium species in the TS-1. No resonance Raman enhancement was detected for the bands of silicalite-1 zeolite and for the band at 960 cm(-1) of TS-1 with any of the excitation sources ranging from the visible tb UV regions. This approach can be applicable for the identification of other transition metal ions substituted in the framework of a zeolite or any other molecular sieve.

Sensitivity map of laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy for single-cell analysis of colorectal cancer

Raman spectroscopy on single, living epithelial cells captured in a laser trap is shown to have diagnostic power over colorectal cancer. This new single-cell technology comprises three major components: primary culture processing of human tissue samples to produce single-cell suspensions, Raman detection on singly trapped cells, and diagnoses of the cells by artificial neural network classifications. it is compared with DNA flow cytometry for similarities and differences. Its advantages over tissue Raman spectroscopy are also discussed. In the actual construction of a diagnostic model for colorectal cancer, real patient data were taken to generate a training set of 320 Raman spectra and, a test set of 80. By incorporating outlier corrections to a conventional binary neural classifier, our network accomplished significantly better predictions than logistic regressions, with sensitivity improved from 77.5% to 86.3% and specificity improved from 81.3% to 86.3% for the training set and moderate improvements for the test set. Most important, the network approach enables a sensitivity map analysis to quantitate the relevance of each Raman band to the normal-to-cancer transform at the cell level. Our technique has direct clinic applications for diagnosing cancers and basic science potential in the study of cell dynamics of carcinogenesis. (C) 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Study of the effect of alcohol on single human red blood cells using near-infrared laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy

The effect of alcohol solution on single human red blood Cells (RBCs) was investigated using near-infrared laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS). In our system, a low-power diode laser at 785 nm was applied for the trapping of a living cell and the excitation of its Raman spectrum. Such a design could simultaneously reduce the photo-damage to the cell and suppress the interference from the fluorescence on the Raman signal. The denaturation process of single RBCs in 20% alcohol solution was investigated by detecting the time evolution of the Raman spectra at the single-cell level. The vitality of RBCs was characterized by the Raman band at 752 cm(-1), which corresponds to the porphyrin breathing mode. We found that the intensity of this band decreased by 34.1% over a period of 25 min after the administration of alcohol. In a further study of the dependence of denaturation on alcohol concentration, we discovered that the decrease in the intensity of the 752 cm(-1) band became more rapid and more prominent as the alcohol concentration increased. The present LTRS technique may have several potential applications in cell biology and medicine, including probing dynamic cellular processes at the single cell level and diagnosing cell disorders in real time. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley T Sons, Ltd.

Diagnosis of colorectal cancer using Raman spectroscopy of laser-trapped single living epithelial cells

A single-cell diagnostic technique for epithelial cancers is developed by utilizing laser trapping and Raman spectroscopy to differentiate cancerous and normal epithelial cells. Single-cell suspensions were prepared from surgically removed human colorectal tissues following standard primary culture protocols and examined in a near-infrared laser-trapping Raman spectroscopy system, where living epithelial cells were investigated one by one. A diagnostic model was built on the spectral data obtained from 8 patients and validated by the data from 2 new patients. Our technique has potential applications from epithelial cancer diagnosis to the study of cell dynamics of carcinogenesis. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Sensitivity map of laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy for single-cell analysis of colorectal cancer

Raman spectroscopy on single, living epithelial cells captured in a laser trap is shown to have diagnostic power over colorectal cancer. This new single-cell technology comprises three major components: primary culture processing of human tissue samples to produce single-cell suspensions, Raman detection on singly trapped cells, and diagnoses of the cells by artificial neural network classifications. it is compared with DNA flow cytometry for similarities and differences. Its advantages over tissue Raman spectroscopy are also discussed. In the actual construction of a diagnostic model for colorectal cancer, real patient data were taken to generate a training set of 320 Raman spectra and, a test set of 80. By incorporating outlier corrections to a conventional binary neural classifier, our network accomplished significantly better predictions than logistic regressions, with sensitivity improved from 77.5% to 86.3% and specificity improved from 81.3% to 86.3% for the training set and moderate improvements for the test set. Most important, the network approach enables a sensitivity map analysis to quantitate the relevance of each Raman band to the normal-to-cancer transform at the cell level. Our technique has direct clinic applications for diagnosing cancers and basic science potential in the study of cell dynamics of carcinogenesis. (C) 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Nonradiative recombination centers in Ga(As,N) and their annealing behavior studied by Raman spectroscopy

Nitrogen-related defects in diluted Ga(As,N) have been detected by Raman scattering in resonance with the localized E+ transition. These defects are attributed to local vibrational modes of nitrogen dimers on Ga- and As-lattice sites. Rapid thermal annealing under appropriate conditions is found to be able to remove the nitrogen dimers. The required minimum annealing temperature coincides with the threshold-like onset of strong, near-band-gap photoluminescence. This finding suggests that the nitrogen dimers are connected with nonradiative recombination centers. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Characterization of stress induced in SOS and Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si heteroepitaxial thin films by Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy technique has been performed to investigate the stress induced in as-grown silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), solid-phase-epitaxy (SPE) re-grown SOS, and Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si double-heteroepitaxial thin films. It was demonstrated that the residual stress in SOS film, arising from mismatch and difference of thermal expansion coefficient between silicon and sapphire, was reduced efficiently by SPE process, and that the stress in Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si thin film is much smaller than that of as-grown SOS and SPE upgraded SOS films. The stress decrease for double heteroepitaxial film Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si mainly arises from the smaller lattice mismatching of 2.4% between silicon top layer and the gamma-Al2O3/Si epitaxiial composite substrate, comparing with the large lattice mismatch of 13% for SOS films. It indicated that gamma-Al2O3/Si as a silicon-based epitaxial substrate benefits for reducing the residual stress for further growth of silicon layer, compared with on bulk sapphire substrate. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Raman Spectroscopy of Irradiation Effect in Three Carbon Allotropes Induced by Low Energy B Ions

Irradiation efect in three carbon allotropes C60, diamond and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) induced by 170 keV B ions, mainly including the process of the damage creation, is investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy technique. The diferences on irradiation sensitivity and structural stability for C60, HOPG and diamond are compared. The analysis results indicate that C60 is the most sensitive for B ions irradiation,diamond is the second one and the structure of HOPG is the most stable under B ion irradiation. The damage cross sections ? of C60, diamond and HOPG deduced from the Raman spectra are 7.78×10−15 , 6.38×10−15 and1.31 × 10−15cm2, respectively.