Simultaneous Capture, Detection, and Inactivation of Bacteria as Enabled by a Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Multifunctional Chip

Abstract

Herein, we present a multifunctional chip based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) that effectively captures, discriminates, and inactivates pathogenic bacteria. The developed SERS chip is made of a silicon wafer decorated with silver nanoparticles and modified with 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA). It was prepared in a straightforward manner by chemical reduction assisted by hydrogen fluoride etching, followed by the conjugation of 4-MPBA through AgS bonds. The dominant merits of the fabricated SERS chip include excellent reproducibility with a relative standard deviation (RSD) value smaller than 11.0 %, adaptable bacterial-capture efficiency (ca. 60 %) at low concentrations (500–2000 CFU mL⁻¹), a low detection limit (down to a concentration of 1.0×10² cells mL⁻¹), and high antibacterial activity (an antibacterial rate of ca. 97 %). The SERS chip enabled sensitive and specific discrimination of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from human blood.