SERS substrates are used to detect the presence of low-abundance biomolecules, and can therefore detect proteins in bodily fluids. Early detection of pancreatic cancer biomarkers was accomplished using SERS-based immunoassay approach. A SERS-base multiplex protein biomarker detection platform in a microfluidic chip is used to detect several protein biomarkers to predict the type of disease and critical biomarkers and increase the chance of differentiating diseases with similar biomarkers like pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and pancreatitis.
This technology has been utilized to detect urea and blood plasma label free in human serum and may become the next generation in cancer detection and screening.
The ability to analyze the composition of a mixture at a nanoscale makes the use of SERS substrates that are beneficial for environmental analysis, pharmaceuticals, material sciences, art and archaeological research, forensic science, drug and explosives detection, food quality analysis, and single algal cell detection.
SERS combined with plasmonic sensing can be used for high-sensitivity quantitative analysis of small molecules in human biofluids, the quantitative detection of biomolecular interaction, the detection of low-level cancer biomarkers via sandwich immunoassay platforms, the label-free characterization of exosomes, and the study of redox processes at a single-molecule level.
SERS is a powerful technique for determining structural information about molecular systems. It has found a wide range of applications in ultra-sensitive chemical sensing and environmental analyses.
A review of the present and future applications of SERS was published in 2020.