When the metabolite binds to the antibodies it causes a change in the SERS spectrum
Ramón Alvarez-Puebla and colleagues at the University of Vigo attached antibodies specific to a major cocaine metabolite, benzoylecgonine, to the surface of carbon nanotube-supported silver nanoparticles. They then added a solution of benzoylecgonine, which bound to the antibodies and caused a change in their structure. The team showed that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) could be used to monitor the structural changes and determine the metabolite concentration.
The method can be performed in biological fluids, such as saliva or urine, says Alvarez-Puebla, and can determine not only the drug's presence but also the amount consumed. It could also be used to detect disease-related biomolecules, he suggests.
Current SERS analytical techniques usually require preparatory steps, such as the incorporation of labels that give a signal when molecules of interest are present. '[This method] is interesting because you do not need to prepare the sample at all,' Alvarez-Puebla comments. The method's sensitivity matches that of established techniques, he adds.
Douglas Stuart from the University of West Georgia, Carrollton, US, who specialises in SERS and nanotechnology, is impressed by the work. 'It is a very elegant approach that takes an unintended consequence [the structural change of the antibody] and uses it as a detection method - a slick trick!'
The group are now working on developing new sensors, including those capable of monitoring more than one analyte, for use in high-throughput screening.
Source: Reprinted with permission from Chemical Technology (Matthew Batchelor)
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