| abstract |
This invention comprises devices, compositions and methods for detecting analytes in complex solutions. In certain embodiments of this invention, the receptor molecules can be lacking in a Raman signal generating moiety that is present in an analyte molecule, so that binding of the analyte to the receptor provides the array with the Raman signal generating moiety. In other embodiments, binding of a receptor to an analyte is detected by observing an alteration or shift of Raman spectral features upon forming of an analyte-receptor associate. Enzymes can be detected by binding to receptors comprising materials that bind to the active site of the enzyme. Antibodies can be detected by formation of an antibody-antigen complex, wherein the antigen is part of a receptor. Analytes that can be detected using these methods include nucleic acids, proteins, and other molecules that can specifically bind to the arrays. Particle structures are disclosed that enhance the Raman a signal produced by an analyte through surface and resonance phenomena. Novel methods are presented for manufacturing particle structures and for attaching receptor molecules to areas of enhanced resonance on the particle structures, thereby producing Raman signals that can be used for highly specific, sensitive assays of biological and other molecules of interest. |