Label-free detection and characterization of molecules is an important tool for detecting a composition of a substance, be it a water, soil, chemical product or biological sample. Its main advantage is the ability to measure quantities of different molecules without knowing their identity in advance. Examples of such label-free detection tools include mass spectrometry and chromatography. While these tools could have a very broad range of applications, their use is limited by relatively high cost and cumbersome testing procedures.

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is an alternative platform for label-free molecular detection that is widely used in academic setting. However, its use is also limited by high cost, which is associated with the difficulty of manufacturing SERS substrates that yield reproducible results. As a result, only a couple of companies supply commercial products based on SERS.

Drexel researchers have developed a very inexpensive (cents per slide) and simple method of manufacturing SERS substrates that yield reproducible results with high sensitivity of molecular detection. In addition to much lower manufacturing cost, Drexel’s method enables production of SERS substrates on nearly any surface, including glass and plastic slides, paper, including filter paper, and many others. Drexel’s manufacturing method is adaptable to high scale production in a variety of formats suitable for both laboratory and field applications. The substrates are produced by partial sintering of silver inks at relatively low temperatures following a proprietary protocol.