Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for biomedical diagnostics and imaging

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique exploiting plasmonic effects that enhance sensitivity significantly, compared to conventional Raman spectroscopy. Progress in nanotechnology led to new fabrication methods for nanostructures and nanoparticles over the last decade. Besides increased comprehension of mechanisms that cause the signal enhancement, computational methods have been developed to tailor analyte-specific nanostructures efficiently. The ability to control the size, shape, and material of surfaces has facilitated the widespread application of SERS in biomedical analytics and clinical diagnostics. In this review, a brief excerpt of such SERS applications is shown, with special focus on cancer diagnostics, glucose detection and in vivo imaging applications. Simulation techniques are discussed to show that electrodynamic theory can be used to predict the characteristics of nanostructure arrangements. Different fabrication methods, such as nanoparticle synthesis, their immobilization and lithographic methods are reviewed in brief.