SERS microscopy: nanoparticle probes and biomedical applications.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) microscopy is a novel method of vibrational microspectroscopic imaging for the selective detection of biomolecules in targeted research. This technique combines the advantages of biofunctionalized metal nanoparticles and Raman microspectroscopy for visualizing and quantifying the distribution of target molecules such as proteins in cells and tissues. Advantages of SERS over existing labeling approaches include the tremendous multiplexing capacity, quantification using the characteristic SERS signatures and high photostability. This review summarizes current designs of nanoparticle-based SERS probes and highlights first biomedical applications of SERS microscopy for protein localization ex and in vivo.