Raman spectroscopic probing of plant material using SERS

We report surface-enhanced Raman studies on intact plant material using onion layers as a biological target, and silver nanoaggregates and silver island films as enhancing plasmonic structures. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement allows the detection of strong Raman signatures of chemical constituents of the surface of the onion layer such as cellulose, proteins, and flavonols. Because of long-time incubation, SERS sensors can access the extracellular space in the inner of the layer. The location of silver nanoparticles inside the onion layer has been monitored by the SERS images collected from chemicals present in the onion and/or reporter molecules attached to the nanoparticles. Our studies show a competitive adsorption of intrinsic bio molecules of the onion layer and reporter molecules. Different spectra from different places of the layer indicate the complex heterogeneous chemical structure of the plant material. The pH-sensitive reporter molecule para mercapto benzoic acid attached to the nanoparticles allows us to infer pH values inside the extracellular matrix of the onion layer. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.