Overview
Topic status: We're looking for students to study this topic.
It has recently been discovered that ultrasensitive Raman measurements in single living epithelial cells are possible by exploiting the effect of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).[1] Colloidal gold particles (~60 nm in size) that are inside cells as "SERS-active nanostructures" result in strongly enhanced Raman signals of the constituents of the cells. The colloidal particles are found to migrate into the cells spontaneously. Particularly strong field enhancement can be observed when gold colloidal particles form colloidal clusters. The strongly enhanced Raman signals allow Raman measurements of a single cell. SERS mapping or imaging over a single bacterial cell is also possible, because micro-Raman spectroscopy has a lateral resolution of about 1 "m, but has not yet been demonstrated. This project seeks to learn more about this approach by applying it to simple bacterial cells to see, for example, whether different types of bacteria can be distinguished by their internal SERS spectra. The project will involve the following sections:
- preparation of gold nanoparticles of various sizes
- treatment of several kinds of non-pathogenic (harmless) bacteria with the nanoparticles
- proof that the nanoparticles have entered the cells (SEM, TEM)
- measurement of SERS spectra
- analysis of spectra in terms of cell chemistry
A knowledge of microbiology is desirable, but not essential.
References: K. Kneipp et al, Applied Spectroscopy, 2002, 56, 150-154.
- Study level
- Honours
- Supervisors
- QUT
- Organisational unit
Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Contact
-
Please contact the supervisor.
Associate Professor Peter Fredericks
Professor Louise Hafner
