High performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering from molecular imprinting polymer capsulated silver spheres.

Driven by the ultrasensitivity of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique and the directive selection of molecular imprinting polymers (MIPs), core-shell silver-molecularly imprinted polymer (Ag@MIP) hybrid structure was synthesized to serve as a novel SERS platform. The results show that as prepared Ag@MIPs wrapped over a thin shell of MIPs are sensitive to the template molecule (Rhodamine 6G). To investigate the selectivity of Ag@MIPs, the structurally related molecules, such as Rhodamine B and crystal violet, were chosen as controls. Notably, the high sensitivity of Ag@MIPs is restrained by the non-specific recognition of Rhodamine B and crystal violet. This high SERS enhancement of the template molecule can be interpreted by the "gate effect" and/or "dummy hot spots". We believe that the sensitivity of SERS coupled with the selectivity of MIPs could induce a promising chemosensor or biosensor for practical applications.