Bacterial DNA recognition by SERS active plasma-coupled nanogold

Shvalya, Vasyl (author), Skubic, Cene (author), Nadižar, Nejc (author), Rozman, Damjana (author), Cvelbar, Uroš (author)

It is shown that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can identify bacteria based on their genomic DNA composition, acting as a “sample-distinguishing marker”. Successful spectral differentiation of bacterial species was accomplished with nanogold aggregates synthesized through single-step plasma reduction of the ionic gold-containing vapored precursor. A high enhancement factor (EF = 10$^7$) in truncated coupled plasmonic particulates allowed SERS-probing at nanogram sample quantities. Simulations confirmed the occurrence of the strongest electric field confinement within nanometric gaps between gold dimers/chains from where the molecular fingerprints of bacterial DNA fragments gained photon scattering enhancement. The most prominent Raman modes linked to fundamental base-pair molecular vibrations were deconvoluted and used to proceed with nitrogenous base content estimation. The genomic composition (percentage of guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine) was successfully validated by third-generation sequencing using nanopore technology, further proving that the SERS technique can be employed to swiftly specify bioentities by the discriminative principal-component statistical approach.

• Language: English
• Keywords: DNA genomic ration, plasma electrochemical reduction, coupled plasmonic nanogold, DNA Raman fingerprints, genetics, genomics, gold, plasma, Raman spectroscopy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 9757-9765
• Numbering: Vol. 22, iss. 23
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-144312
• UDC: 533
• ISSN on article: 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c02835
• COBISS.SI-ID: 127669763
• Publication date in RUL: 14.02.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Nano letters
• Shortened title: Nano lett.
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 1530-6992
• COBISS.SI-ID: 512808217

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.