Self-assembled nanorod supercrystals for ultrasensitive SERS diagnostics

SummaryThe fabrication of highly optically active supercrystals of anisotropic nanorods exploiting the electric field concentration and the nanoantenna effects provides a new family of optical sensors with the potential to maximize the SERS signal and thereby the possibility of detecting and quantifying the disease markers with low SERS cross-sections at ultralow concentrations. The capabilities of the new self-assembled nanorod SERS substrates have been demonstrated for real-time sensing of prions in real blood. It may also be possible to functionalize the top layers of supercrystals with specific recognition molecules for sensing many other disease markers, or even its integration into on-line devices, for the ultrasensitive screening of analytical targets relevant to medical science, environment, and homeland security.

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► Description of the application of gold nanorod supercrystals as optical antennas for SERS detection.
► The advantages of SERS as ultrasensitive analytical technique are described.
► Gold nanorods can self-assemble into supercrystals and generate intense fields.
► The resulting nanoplasmonic platform has been applied for prion detection in blood.