Study of interaction between aspartic acid and silver by surface-enhanced Raman scattering on H(2)O and D(2)O sols.

Three different surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra are recorded for aspartic acid on H(2)O silver sols under different concentrations and pH values. The analysis of the results shows that it interacts with the metal surface in its dianionic form in two different ways, depending on the pH and concentration. Moreover, in some cases the fumarate anion is detected, which results from the chemical surface transformation of the aspartate. The N-deuterated aspartic acid adsorbed on the D(2)O silver sols gives rise to only one SERS spectrum as a consequence of the interaction of amino and carboxylate functional groups of the dianion with the metal, independent of the concentration and pD. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopolymers (Biospectroscopy) 62: 241-248, 2001