Gold nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide substrate of at-home blood phenylalanine measuring device for phenylketonuria and applications thereof
A gold nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (NAAO) substrate used in coordination with a handheld Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) device for detecting phenylalanine (Phe) in a sample collected from a subject, the gold NAAO substrate comprising a multilayered nanoporous aluminum layer; and a gold layer disposed on top of the multilayered nanoporous aluminum layer. The gold layer comprises gold nanoparticles.
1. A gold nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (NAAO) substrate used in coordination with a handheld Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) device for detecting phenylalanine (Phe) in a sample collected from a subject, the gold NAAO substrate comprising:
a multilayered nanoporous aluminum layer; and
a gold layer disposed on top of the multilayered nanoporous aluminum layer,
wherein the gold layer comprises gold nanoparticles;
wherein the gold NAAO substrate is configured to receive the sample; and
wherein the gold NAAO substrate and the device detect the Phe in the sample.
2. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein
the multilayered nanoporous aluminum layer comprises an aluminum layer base, and a nanoporous alumina layer grown on top of the aluminum layer base.
3. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 2 , wherein the nanoporous alumina layer comprises a plurality of reflective alumina nanocavities.
4. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold nanoparticles are nanorods.
5. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold nanoparticles are nanospheres.
6. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold NAAO substrate has a high surface area to volume ratio.
7. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold nanoparticles are disposed onto the multilayered nanoporous aluminum layer via a wet chemical approach.
8. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 7 , wherein the wet chemical approach comprises injecting a cosolvent solution into a three-phase system.
9. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 8 , wherein the three-phase system comprises air/water/hexane interfaces.
10. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 8 , wherein the cosolvent solution comprises ethanol.
11. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 9 , wherein the cosolvent solution is injected into the water/hexane interface of the three-phase system.
12. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold layer is a monolayer.
13. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold NAAO substrate is detachable from the device.
14. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold NAAO substrate is configured to receive a laser beam produced by a laser generator of the device.
15. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 14 , wherein the laser beam reaches the sample on the gold NAAO substrate and is reflected or deflected to produce a light signal; and a light sensor of the device is configured to receive the light signal reflected or deflected from the sample.
16. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the gold NAAO substrate is disposed on a test strip.
17. The gold NAAO substrate according to claim 16 , wherein the test strip is detachably received in a test strip holder of the device.