Surface enhanced Raman scattering of amino acids assisted by gold nanoparticles and Gd(3+) ions

J Phys Chem A. 2015 May 7;119(18):4127-35. doi: 10.1021/jp511548a. Epub 2015 Apr 24.

Abstract

The surface enhanced raman scattering (SERS) signal from the l-tyrosine (tyr) molecule adsorbed on gold nanoparticles (Au-tyr) is compared with the SERS signal assisted by the presence of gadolinium ions (Gd(3+)) coordinated with the Au-tyr system. An enhancement factor of the SERS signal in the presence of Gd(3+) ions was ∼5 times higher than that produced by l-tyrosine adsorbed on gold nanoparticles. The enhancement of the SERS signal can be attributed to a corresponding increase in the local electric field due to the presence of Gd(3+) ions in the vicinity of a gold dimer configuration. This scenario was confirmed by solving numerically Maxwell equations, showing an increase of 1 order of magnitude in the local electric scattered field when the Gd(3+) ion is located in between a gold dimer compared with naked gold nanoparticles.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Gadolinium / chemistry*
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Ions / chemistry
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman
  • Surface Properties
  • Tyrosine / chemistry*

Substances

  • Ions
  • Tyrosine
  • Gold
  • Gadolinium