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Raman Spectroscopy Solutions for Trace Analysis - Monitoring and Testing
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy or SERS is a specialized Raman technique that enhances the Raman scattering efficiency through the use of nanoparticles in solution or a treated surface. SERS improves the detection limit of Raman to the part per billion level and beyond for some analytes.
Trace Analysis Applications
Most samples benefit for SERS to lower detection limits. SERS materials are used for a broad range of applications from illicit drug detection to contamination in food. Counterfeit materials and medical testing applications continue to emerge rapidly as the power of SERS enhancement is extended to new markets.
WHITEPAPER: Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS): Expanding the limits of conventional Raman analysis
The advantage of SERS for the analytical chemist lies in its ability to detect analyte concentrations of parts per million and even parts per billion levels, while classical Raman is limited to parts per thousand. This white paper briefly explains Raman spectroscopy and SERS enhancement, then describes new Printable SERS (P-SERS) substrates from Metrohm. These innovative substrates are featured in various applications, highlighting their sensitivity, adaptability, and ease of use.
The illicit addition of melamine to milk due to its apparent enhancement of protein content in foods attracted worldwide attention in 2008. It was discovered then that melamine was being deliberately added to raw milk at collecting stations in rural China. Thousands of young children and infants who consumed formula produced from melamine-tainted milk experienced kidney damage and death.
See how SERS compares to GC-MS, LC-MS and other analytical methods for measuring melamine
For SERS developers or end users interested in a specific SERS application, the centerpiece of their experimental or technological platform must be a Raman setup that provides reliable lab-grade performance and is affordable and portable. While Raman microscope systems meet this requirement, such instruments cannot be moved around, which hinders SERS developers from transferring their technologies to environments such as production lines, field testing or diagnostic locations where SERS analysis is intended to be carried out.