Ag-functionalized si nanowire arrays aligned vertically for sers detection of captured heavy metal ions by bsa

Abstract

A novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based probe to capture heavy metal ion (Zn2+) by bovine serum albumin (BSA) using Si-nanowire (SiNW) arrays with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was developed. A layer with AgNPs was deposited on the SiNW surface by RF magnetron sputtering for enhancement of SERS signals. Using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), the observation reveals that the AgNP layer with depths of 30–75 nm was successfully deposited on SiNW arrays. The Ag peaks in EDS and XRD spectra of SiNW arrays confirmed the presence of Ag particles on SiNW arrays. The WCA observations showed a high affinity of the Ag–SiNW arrays immobilized with BSA (water contact angle (WCA) = 87.1◦ ) and ZnSO4 (WCA = 8.8◦ ). The results of FTIR analysis illustrate that the conjugate bonds exist between zinc sulfate (ZnSO4 ) and –OH groups/–NH groups of BSA. The resulting SiNWs/Ag NPs composite interfaces showed large Raman scattering enhancement for the capture of heavy metal ions by BSA with a detection of 0.1 µM. BSA and ZnSO4 conjugations, illustrating specific SERS spectra with high sensitivity, which suggests great promise in developing label-free biosensors.