NANOPROBES FOR MOLECULE-SPECIFIC CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Development of nano-Raman probes that will facilitate the detection of Raman scattering of individual molecule is proposed. The proposed phase I research will focus on the rational design of a nanoparticle system and analyte-nanoparticle complex. The nanoparticle-solid state support platform will also be optimized in the proposed research. During the phase I research the feasibility of a strategy for analyzing single molecule vibrational spectrum in complex cellular system will be established. This research will lead to the development of a marketable analytical system with the capability of analyzing the structure of an individual molecule. We believe that the availability of a robust sensitive Raman system will have broad interest from chemical and biomedical researchers. And it might have impact on DNA sequencing, early stage disease detection, and environmental monitoring.