Detecting the Hybridization of Circulating Tumor DNA by Nitride Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Intensive research efforts have been drawn on the development of biosensors for early cancer diagnosis. To achieve the goal, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising tool in light of its excellent specificity and non-invasive nature [1], [2]. However, SERS biosensors currently face two challenges: i) tedious surface functionalization; ii) signal fluctuation. To address these issues, we used Al nanoparticles to naturally immobilize DNA and InGaN quantum wells to stabilize the SERS signals via abundant surface charges [3]. These solutions significantly simplify the detection steps and render the sensitivity to the single-molecule level.