Plasmonic multi-shell nanomatryoshka particles as highly tunable SERS tags with built-in reporters

Here we report on the synthesis and averaged SERS measurements of multi-shell nanomatryoshka SERS tags. By tuning the number of shells or by changing the Raman reporters in different gap layers, their Raman intensities and spectral bands were tunable. These tags show great potential for SERS-based biosensing and bioimaging.