Issue 4, 2013

Inkjet-printed paper-based SERS dipsticks and swabs for trace chemical detection

Abstract

We demonstrate a paper-based surface swab and lateral-flow dipstick that includes an inkjet-printed surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate for analyte detection. Due to capillary-action wicking of cellulose, the paper dipstick enables extremely simple and pump-free loading of liquid samples into the detection device, and in addition provides inherent analyte concentration within the detection volume. Furthermore, the flexible nature of the paper-based SERS device also enables it to act as a swab to collect analyte molecules directly from a large-area surface; the collected analyte molecules can then be focused into a small-volume SERS-active region by lateral-flow concentration. These capabilities are unseen in today's SERS substrates and microfluidic SERS devices. Using these novel lateral-flow paper SERS devices, we achieved detection limits as low as 95 fg of Rhodamine 6G (R6G), 413 pg of the organophosphate malathion, 9 ng of heroin, and 15 ng of cocaine. Moreover, the measurements show that the technique is quantitative and is repeatable across multiple swabs and dipsticks. The results reported here may lead to ultra-low-cost portable applications in trace chemical detection.

Graphical abstract: Inkjet-printed paper-based SERS dipsticks and swabs for trace chemical detection

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Aug 2012
Accepted
13 Sep 2012
First published
13 Sep 2012

Analyst, 2013,138, 1020-1025

Inkjet-printed paper-based SERS dipsticks and swabs for trace chemical detection

W. W. Yu and I. M. White, Analyst, 2013, 138, 1020 DOI: 10.1039/C2AN36116G

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