Nanocomposites, methods of making same, and applications of same for multicolor surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS) detections
A method of making at least one nanocomposite for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection of a target of interest includes forming at least one gold nanorod; coating a silver layer on an outer surface of the gold nanorod; assembling a Raman reporter molecule layer on the coated silver layer, wherein the Raman reporter molecule layer comprises Raman reporter molecules that are detectable by the SERS; coating a thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG) layer on the assembled Raman reporter molecule layer; and conjugating the coated thiolated PEG layer with molecules of an antibody to make the at least one nanocomposite.
1. A nanocomposite, comprising:
a core;
a shell surrounding the core;
a reporter layer assembled on the shell, wherein the reporter layer comprises 4-(methylsulfanyl) thiophenol (4MSTP);
a pegylated layer coated on the reporter layer; and
a targeting layer conjugated to the pegylated layer, comprising targeting molecules.
2. The nanocomposite of claim 1 , wherein the core comprises at least one gold nanorod, and the shell is a silver layer comprising silver nanoparticles.
3. The nanocomposite of claim 1 , wherein the reporter layer is detectable by at least one of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), x-ray radiography, computed tomography (CT), and infrared spectroscopy (IR).
4. The nanocomposite of claim 1 , wherein the pegylated layer comprises at least one of thiolated polyethylene glycol (HS-PEG), thiolated polyethylene glycol acid (HS-PEG-COOH) and HS-PEG-NHx.
5. The nanocomposite of claim 1 , wherein the targeting molecules are molecules of anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibody (anti-EpCAM), anti-CD44 antibody, anti-insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor antibody (anti-IGF-1), anti-Keratin 18 antibody, or one or more antibodies specific to a target of interest.
6. The nanocomposite of claim 1 , further comprising at least one molecule of interest selected from a drug, a growth factor, a protein, or other biologically active molecules.
7. The nanocomposite of claim 1 , further comprising at least one fluorescent agent.
8. A nanoagent comprising at least one nanocomposite of claim 1 , for detecting at least one tumor cell or at least one pathogen.