Molecular Affinity Agents for Intrinsic Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Sensors

Research at the interface of synthetic materials, biochemistry, and analytical techniques has enabled sensing platforms for applications across many research communities. Herein we review the materials used as affinity agents to create surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensors. Our scope includes those affinity agents (antibody, aptamer, small molecule, and polymer) that facilitate the intrinsic detection of targets relevant to biology, medicine, national security, environmental protection, and food safety. We begin with an overview of the analytical technique (SERS) and considerations for its application as a sensor. We subsequently describe four classes of affinity agents, giving a brief overview on affinity, production, attachment chemistry, and first uses with SERS. Additionally, we review the SERS features of the affinity agents, and the analytes detected by intrinsic SERS with that affinity agent class. We conclude with remarks on affinity agent selection for intrinsic SERS sensing platforms.