Synthesis and characterization of nanostructures and Raman markers for bio-diagnostics using SERS

Abstract

The foundation of scattering phenomena of light was laid as early as 1922 when Brillouin predicted scattering of light by long wavelength elastic sound waves [1]. Later in 1928, Sir C. V. Raman and K. S. Krishnan discovered the Raman Effect [2], which describes the inelastic scattering of light by molecules. Soon it was realized that this phenomenon is an excellent tool to study excitations of molecule and get information about molecular structure. Raman scattering is a weak process (one part in a million photons get scattered inelastically) and use of mercury lamps then (not a very good light source) further disregarded its use as a fundamental tool. The discovery of laser and intense monochromatic sources in 1960 saw progress in light scattering and the beginning of a new era. Since then there has been rapid expansion in the versatility of Raman system that now incorporates microscopes and fiber optic bundles to illuminate and view the sample. Thus, with the development in technology Raman scattering has emerged out as very important technique for molecule characterization.