Postgraduate research opportunities Development of Ultrabright Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Nanotags

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an extremely sensitive and selective technique that is rapidly emerging as an effective method for ultrasensitive analysis. It offers an increased enhancement over normal Raman scattering; therefore, it is ideal for the detection of trace amounts of analyte. And because of the molecularly specific spectra obtained it is also perfect for detecting analytes in mixtures. Nanotags are optical bright metal nanoparticles that give a strong SERS response and can be used to carry out ultrasensitive detection in, for example, bioanalytical assays for the detection of disease relevant biomarkers. Nanotags can be coded with different SERS active labels to allow very sensitive multiplex detection due to their unique and sharp vibrational spectra.

This project proposes to develop and optimise optically bright nanotags to carry out detection using excitation wavelengths at 785 nm and above. This will require synthesising different types of metal nanoparticles which have absorbances towards the infrared region of the electromagnetic nanoparticles and will be stable to the environment in which they will act as a label. This may involve, for example, encapsulation of the nanotags in silica or polymer. We will also use state of the art, advanced analytical techniques to characterise the nanotags and understand their SERS properties at the single particle level.