Au/Ag composite-based SERS nanoprobe of Cr 3+

Quantitative characterization of Cr 3+ , an important element revealing human metabolism and biological environmental variation, is still difficult to achieve by conventional biochemical methods due to the lack of high-sensitivity, real-time techniques with rapid response detection. Using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), we construct an Au/Ag composite-based SERS nanoprobe for the quantitative characterization of Cr 3+ content in solution, in which DL-mercaptosuccinic acid (DL-MSA) is employed for Raman signal enhancement, and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) is chosen as the Raman reporter. The achieved result demonstrates obvious advantages of the synthesized Au/Ag composite-based SERS nanoprobe in sensitivity and response speed. Importantly, this Au/Ag composite-based SERS nanoprobe might provide a new strategy for dynamic monitoring of Cr 3+ content in human metabolism. Graphical abstract