Patent Application
20230168201
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0167646, filed on Nov. 29, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The following disclosure relates to a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe including a nanolaminate and metal nanoparticles, and a method of detecting catecholamine using the same.
Dopamine (DA) is one of the most important neurotransmitters, playing critical roles in various physiological and brain activities. For example, the DA has been used as a crucial biomarker in medical diagnostics because abnormal DA levels have been observed in patients suffering from diverse neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Huntington's disease, and epilepsy. In addition to its neural communication role, the DA is also involved in immunoregulation, modulating the metabolism and the immune system. Therefore, the need for a technology to quantitatively detect such DA is increasing.
Although various conventional DA detection methods have been developed, including electrochemistry, chromatography, chemiluminescence, fluorescence, surface plasmon resonance, and plasmonic colorimetry, the majority of DA sensing platforms can only reliably measure DA down to the nanomolar range, which is not sufficient for the diagnosis of neurological disorders requiring a sensitivity down to tens of picomolar range.
Recently, several sensors have demonstrated improved sensitivity down to 1 pM. Of these, electrochemical sensors are one (S. Verma et al., Biosens. Bioeletron., 2020, 167, 112347) of the most well-established techniques due to their high sensitivity and rapid detection. However, this approach suffers from low selectivity because of the presence of electroactive interferents in extracellular fluids (for example, ascorbic acid and uric acid) which are oxidized by a very similar potential to that for DA.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has emerged as a promising biochemical detection technique, providing molecular fingerprint information with a rapid, non-destructive, and ultrasensitive detection capability down to the single-molecule level. The SERS is a technique of exploiting the surface plasmon enhancement of both the excitation and inelastic Raman scattering processes of molecules at plasmonic hotspots, dramatically amplifying intrinsically weak Raman scattering signals.
Although various conventional label-free SERS platforms have been used to detect DA in extracellular physiological fluids, the label-free SERS approach still faces significant challenges in diagnostic applications due to its lack of specificity and low sensitivity. For mitigating these issues, sample pre-treatment and chemical functionalization have been used to selectively extract DA from extracellular physiological fluids. The method has somewhat improved the above issues, but still remains at the nanomolar level in detecting the DA because DA molecules have a weak Raman scattering cross-section.
An exemplary embodiment is directed to providing a surface-enhanced Raman complex probe as a surface-enhanced Raman double recognition platform capable of effectively detecting a catecholamine compound even at extremely low concentrations.
Another exemplary embodiment is directed to providing a composition for biosensing or bioimaging capable of effectively detecting a catecholamine compound.
Still another exemplary embodiment is directed to providing a method of detecting catecholamine using a surface-enhanced Raman complex probe.
Still yet another exemplary embodiment is directed to providing a method of providing information necessary for a disease of a neurological disease using a surface-enhanced Raman complex probe.
To Achieve the Object,
In some implementation, a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe for detecting catecholamine includes: a nanolaminate including a nanogap, a surface of the nanolaminate being modified with a compound that binds to a first functional group of the catecholamine; and a metal nanoparticle whose surface is modified with a compound that binds to a second functional group of the catecholamine.
In some implementation, there is provided a composition for biosensing or bioimaging including the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe.
In some implementation, there is provided a method of detecting catecholamine included in an analyte, using a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe.
In some implementation there is provided a method of providing information necessary for a diagnosis of neurological diseases using a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described below.
Meanwhile, exemplary embodiments in the present disclosure may be modified in several other forms, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to exemplary embodiments to be described below. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, throughout the present specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, “including” any components will be understood to imply the inclusion of other elements rather than the exclusion of any other elements.
An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe, including: a nanolaminate including a nanogap, a surface of the nanolaminate being modified with a compound that binds to a first functional group of catecholamine; and a metal nanoparticle whose surface is modified with a compound that binds to a second functional group of the catecholamine.
In an exemplary embodiment, the first functional group and the second functional group may be each selected from an amine group and a diol group, which are two functional groups commonly included in catecholamine-based compounds. That is, when any one of the amine group and the diol group is selected as the first functional group, the second functional group may be the other functional group not selected from the first functional group.
In an exemplary embodiment, the compound capable of binding to the amine group of the catecholamine may be a compound including a leaving group capable of being separated by binding to the amine group of catecholamine. For example, an example of the compound may include 3,3′-dithiodipropionic acid di(N-hydroxysuccinimide ester) (DSP), but when the compound is a compound to which the amine group binds, the compound is not particularly limited as long as it can bind to the catecholamine in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In an exemplary embodiment, the compound capable of binding to the diol group of catecholamine is not particularly limited as long as it is a compound capable of binding to the diol group of the catecholamine. An example of the compound may be a compound including a B(OH)2 group such as 3-mercaptophenylboronic acid (3-MPBA).
When the compound capable of binding to the amine group and/or the compound capable of binding to the diol group may effectively bind to a nanolaminate and/or metal nanoparticles when having —S— binding.
In an exemplary embodiment, the nanolaminate may include a plasmonic metal layer and an etching layer. In this case, the plasmonic metal layer and the etching layer may be alternately stacked with each other. In an exemplary embodiment, the nanogap may be formed between the plasmonic metal layer and the etching layer, and specifically, the nanogap may be formed in the space between the plasmonic metal layer and the etching layer formed by etching the etching layer using a buffered oxide etchant (BOE) solution.
The etching layer is not necessarily limited as long as it is a layer etched through an etching process such as etching or lithography, and may be, for example, an oxide film or a nitride film, or SiO2, SiN, or Si3N4. Alternatively, for example, the etching layer may use a layer commonly used as a dielectric layer or an insulating layer.
In an exemplary embodiment, the plasmonic metal layer and the etching layer may be vertically stacked. The plasmonic metal layer may be stacked to a thickness of, for example, 10 nm to 50 nm, 20 nm to 40 nm, or 25 nm to 35 nm, but is not limited thereto. The etching layer may be stacked to a thickness of, for example, 5 nm to 30 nm, 10 nm to 25 nm, or 10 nm to 20 nm, but is not limited thereto. The thicknesses of the plasmonic metal layer and the etching layer are not necessarily the same in each stacked layer, but may have independent thicknesses.
In an exemplary embodiment, the nanogap may have a width of 0.1 nm to 100 nm. Alternatively, for example, the nanogap may have a thickness of 0.1 nm to 80 nm, 0.1 nm to 60 nm, 0.1 nm to 40 nm, 0.1 nm to 20 nm, 1 nm to 20 nm, or 5 nm to 15 nm, but is not limited thereto. In this case, the width of the nanogap may be determined in consideration of a diameter of a suitable metal nanoparticle to form an additional hotspot by binding the metal nanoparticles to the nanogap hotspot.
In an exemplary embodiment, the metal nanoparticles may be, for example, nanoparticles of plasmonic metal, and specifically, may be gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), or palladium (Pd).
In an exemplary embodiment, an average diameter of the metal nanoparticles may be 1 nm to 100 nm, or, for example, 1 nm to 80 nm, 1 nm to 60 nm, 1 nm to 40 nm, 1 nm to 20 nm, or 5 nm or 20 nm. The average diameter of the metal nanoparticles may be appropriately determined in consideration of biocompatibility.
In an exemplary embodiment, the catecholamine may be doubly recognized by binding to both the first functional group and the second functional group included in the complex probe, and thus, may be more effectively detected. More specifically, the catecholamine may be doubly recognized by binding, for example, the modified compound and the diol group of the catecholamine to the metal nanoparticles, and the modified compound and the amine group of the catecholamine to the nanolaminate, and a very strong SERS signal may be generated by forming a reinforced hotspot in the nanogap included in the nanolaminate, so it is possible to quantitatively detect even catecholamine having an extremely low concentration of a pico level by the complex probe.
In an exemplary embodiment, when the catecholamine is a catecholamine-based compound having a diol group and an amine group, the catecholamine can be detected by the complex probe according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and therefore, it is not necessarily limited to a specific catecholamine-based compound. Specific examples of catecholamine compounds detectable by the complex probe according to an exemplary embodiment include dopamine, polydopamine, alpha-methyldopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, methyldopa, droxidopa, or 5-hydroxydopamine, and even a combination of these can be detected.
In an exemplary embodiment, a binding relationship of the dopamine molecules, and a substrate including a nanolaminate modified with DSP capable of binding to an amine group which is included in a dopamine molecule as an example of the catecholamine and metal nanoparticles modified with 3-MPBA capable of binding to the diol group is illustrated as an example in
An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a composition for biosensing or a composition for bioimaging including the surface-enhanced Raman complex probe.
In an exemplary embodiment, the composition for biosensing may be a composition for sensing catecholamine from an analyte, and the composition for bioimaging may be a composition for imaging catecholamine included in the analyte.
Another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of detecting catecholamine included an analyte using a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe, including: a nanolaminate including a nanogap, the surface of the nanolaminate being modified with a compound binding to an amine group; and metal nanoparticles whose surface is modified with a compound binding to a diol group.
In an exemplary embodiment, the catecholamine can be quantitatively detected even at an extremely low concentration of pico level, and for example, 0.1 pM or more, 0.5 pM or more, 1 pM or more, 10 pM or more of catecholamine can also be detected.
In an exemplary embodiment, the detection method may include incubating the laminate and the metal nanoparticles together with the analyte. Alternatively, the detection method may include incubating the laminate or the substrate including the laminate together with the analyte to bind the substrate to the catecholamine included in the analyte; removing unbound catecholamine through a washing process; incubating with the metal nanoparticles to bind the catecholamine binding to the substrate and the metal nanoparticles; and removing the unbound catecholamine through the washing process.
In an exemplary embodiment, the excitation light (irradiated light) used for detection of the catecholamine may have a wavelength of 500 nm to 1500 nm, or, for example, 600 nm to 1300 nm, 600 nm to 1000 nm, or 600 nm to 900 nm.
Another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of providing information necessary for a diagnosis of neurological diseases using a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe, including: a nanolaminate including a nanogap, the surface of the nanolaminate being modified with a compound binding to an amine group; and metal nanoparticles whose surface is modified with a compound binding to a diol group.
In this case, the neurological disease may be Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Huntington's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, stroke, dementia, or epilepsy, and the neurological disease is not limited thereto as long as it is a neurological disease characterized in that catecholamine is secreted.
In an exemplary embodiment, the complex probe quantitatively detects the catecholamine included in the analyte, thereby providing information necessary for diagnosis of a neurological disease.
In this case, the analyte may be extracted from an individual with suspected neurological disease.
Hereinafter, Examples and Experimental Examples of the present invention will be specifically illustrated and described below. However, the Examples and Experimental Examples to be described below are merely illustrative of a part of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto.
A substrate including nanolaminate, which is included in the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe, was manufactured by the following method.
1-1. Preparation of 3D Nanolaminate Plasmonic Crystal (NLPC)
First, in order to generate a nanopillar array at regular intervals, a complex polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp patterned with a nanohole array (diameter=150 nm, spacing=400 nm, height=400 nm) using soft lithography was prepared. The PDMS has two layers, and a lower layer is a harder layer called hard-PDMS, and was prepared by spin-coating hard-PDMS on a silane-coated silicon master and then curing the hard-PDMS at 60° C. for 10 minutes. Next, after liquid PDMS was poured on the hard-PDMS and cured for 4 hours, UV-curable polyurethane (NOA61, Norland Product Inc., USA) on a 3-inch silicon wafer was UV-cured for 10 minutes to solidify with the PDMS stamp, and then heat-cured overnight in a convection oven at 80° C. (
Next, a 1 nm-thick Cr layer was deposited as an adhesive layer on the nanopillar array, and a 1 nm-thick Ti layer was deposited on all metal-dielectric interfaces. Then, to generate the nanolaminate on the nanopillar array, four gold (Au) nanoparticles layers with a thickness of 30 nm and three SiO2 layers having a thickness 12, 14, and 16 nm were alternately deposited using an electron beam evaporator (PVD250, Kurt J. Lesker Company, USA). To form the nanogap in the nanolaminate, 10:1 BOE (Transene Inc., USA) was treated for 10 seconds to partially etch the SiO2 layer so that molecules and gold nanoparticles could access the nanogap hotspot region (
1-2. Surface Modification
In order to modify the surface of the nanolaminate prepared in 1-1. with a compound binding to catecholamine, 3,3′-dithiodipropionic acid di(N-hydroxysuccinimide ester) (DSP) was used as an example of a compound binding to an amine group among functional groups included in the catecholamine.
Specifically, the substrate manufactured in 1-1. above was functionalized with 1 mL of 5 mM DSP in DMSO for 100 minutes, and then washed with DMSO and deionized water, respectively, for 5 min to remove residual DSP, so the substrate including the nanolaminate whose surface is modified with the DSP was manufactured.
In order to modify the surface of metal nanoparticles with a compound binding to catecholamine, 3-mercaptophenylboronic acid (3-MPBA) was used as an example of a compound binding to a diol group among functional groups included in the catecholamine.
Specifically, 30 μL of 1 mM 3-MPBA (in 0.2 M NaOH) was added to 1 mL of 10 nm AuNPs (diameter: 10 nm) and reacted at room temperature for 1 hour. Then, to remove unbound 3-MPBA, 3-MPBA-modified AuNPs (3-MPBA-AuNPs) were collected by centrifugation at 15,000 rpm for 10 minutes, and then 3-MPBA-AuNPs were resuspended in deionized water and rinsed three times, so metal nanoparticles whose surface is modified with 3-MPBA were prepared.
Hereinafter, in order to prepare the complex probe used in the experiment, dopamine (DA) was used as an example as a catecholamine compound. And the substrate (DSP-NLPC) whose surface is modified with the DSP manufactured in Example 1 was incubated with various concentrations of dopamine in artificial CSF (aCSF) of pH 7.4 (1 mL) at room temperature for 1 hour, washed in deionized water for 5 minutes to remove unbound dopamine molecules, incubated the dopamine-binding DSP-NLPC substrate with 200 μL of 3-MPBA-AuNP for 1 hour, and then washed with deionized water for 5 minutes to remove unbound 3-MPBA-AuNP, and was used.
1-1. SERB Intensity Evaluation
As a result of measuring the 3-MPBA molecule on the substrate using two excitation wavelengths of 633 nm and 780 nm, the SERS intensity of 3-MPBA at 994 cm−1 was relatively higher for excitation of 780 nm than excitation of 633 nm (
1-2. FDTD Analysis
As a result of investigating near-field optical properties of NLPC using FDTD (Lumerical Inc) simulation, it was found that a stronger local electric field was concentrated in a nanogap and a sidewall of a metal nanodisk at the excitation wavelength of 780 nm compared to 633 nm (
1-3. Raman Spectrum Analysis
The results of evaluating the SERS activity of the substrate were shown in
The result of analyzing the Raman spectrum of the complex probe was illustrated in
To evaluate the quantitative detection function of the double recognition structure by the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy complex probe, the NLPC substrates with dopamine-specific double recognition structures were mapped using dopamine at various concentrations from 1 pM to 1 nM.
Next, in the image obtained as illustrated in
Hereinabove, although the present invention has been described in detail through preferred examples and experimental examples, the scope of the present invention is not limited to specific examples, and should be construed according to the appended claims. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0167646 | Nov 2021 | KR | national |
