Nano-indentation patterns for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering

The technique of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) provides high informational content on the chemical structure of the probed substances, which makes this method a very promising tool in biomedical spectroscopy. In this study, we presented a novel method that utilizes nanoindentation to generate graphically indented patterns on Au surface. The modified Au surface was thereafter relevant to the applications of SERS. 5, 5´-Dithio-bis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and Rhodamine 6G (R6G) were particularly grafted on the modified Au surface to verify an enhanced Raman Effect. DTNB was chemically adsorbed, while R6G was physically adsorbed on the modified Au surface. The particularly modified Au surfaces exhibited significant SERS enhancements and possibly applied for microorganism detection.