Detection of effect of chemotherapeutic agents to cancer cells on gold nanoflower patterned substrate using surface-enhanced Raman scattering and cyclic voltammetry

In vitro assays have generally been carried out for cytological diagnosis and for evaluation of the cytotoxic effect of chemotherapeutic agents as an alternative to animal experiments. In this study, a method for fabrication and application of a gold nanoflower array on an ITO substrate for evaluation of the effect of chemotherapeutic agents on cancer cell behavior by the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analysis, as well as the electrochemical detection was described. Due to the increased sensitivity provided by gold nanoflower substrates, the effect of chemotherapeutic agents at low concentration level was successfully detected based on SERS technique. This substrate was found to give enhanced Raman spectra with high surface plasmon field in the near infrared (NIR) spectral range, which minimize fluorescence interference and photo-toxicity. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was further performed for confirmation of results obtained by SERS assay and showed increased intensity of current peaks for various concentrations at low levels. The developed Au nanoflowers modified ITO substrates developed in this study could be used as a simultaneous SERS and CV substrate to determine the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on cancer cells.