SERS nanotags for point of care diagnostics

An unmet need in point-of-care diagnostics is to develop tests that perform on par with the central laboratory. Oxonica has developed a series of nanoscale optical detection tags based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) that can potentially meet these criteria. These glass-coated, reporter-loaded gold nanoparticles are excited in the near-infrared, allowing detection in complex matrices that exhibit significant background, and multiple types can simultaneously be quantified using a portable reader. This paper describes the design strategy, construction and characterization of these novel nanomaterials. Data are presented that highlight the advantages of SERS nanotags as optical labels, and use of these materials in biological applications is presented.