A surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based approach for rapid and highly sensitive quantitative analysis of 3-carboxy-4-methyl-5-propyl-2-furanpropionate and indole-3-acetic acid in saline, human serum and uremic serum of patients with chronic kidney disease

3-Carboxy-4-methyl-5-propyl-2-furanpropionate (CMPF) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are critical protein-bound uremic toxins that occur during chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study offers the first reported instance of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) coupled with an Au nanoparticle substrate for the simple quantification of CMPF and IAA in human serum samples. The detection limits of the CMPF and IAA analysis were estimated to be 0.04 nM (S/N = 3) and 0.05 μM (S/N = 3), respectively. The results demonstrate that the SERS technique is fast-acting and highly sensitive when it comes to the simultaneous and individual quantitative detection of CMPF and IAA in biological samples. We believe that this analytical tool could serve as a very useful method for practical applications during the analysis of CMPF and IAA in the serum and urine of patients at all stages of CKD and of healthy volunteers as well as in various reservoirs.