A Versatile DNA Origami-Based Plasmonic Nanoantenna for Label-Free Single-Molecule Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

DNA origami technology allows for the precise nanoscale assembly of chemical entities that give rise to sophisticated functional materials. We have created a versatile DNA origami nanofork antenna (DONA) by assembling Au or Ag nanoparticle dimers with different gap sizes down to 1.17 nm, enabling signal enhancements in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of up to 10¹¹. This allows for single-molecule SERS measurements, which can even be performed with larger gap sizes to accommodate differently sized molecules, at various excitation wavelengths. A general scheme is presented to place single analyte molecules into the SERS hot spots using the DNA origami structure exploiting covalent and noncovalent coupling schemes. By using Au and Ag dimers, single-molecule SERS measurements of three dyes and cytochrome c and horseradish peroxidase proteins are demonstrated even under nonresonant excitation conditions, thus providing long photostability during time-series measurement and enabling optical monitoring of single molecules.