Rapid SERS Assay for Determination of the Opioid Fentanyl Using Silver-Coated Sharply-Branched Gold Nanostars

Q: How does the proposed SERS platform detect fentanyl in human urine?

It uses silver-coated sharply branched gold nanostars (SGNS) as plasmonics-active sensing substrates and performs SERS detection in human urine without sample preparation.

Q: What role does silver thickness play in the assay performance?

Silver thickness strongly affects the electromagnetic enhancement. Results show the strongest SERS enhancement occurs at an optimum silver thickness of 45 nm on sharply spiked SGNS.

Q: What detection range and limit does the method achieve for fentanyl in urine?

Two differential linear responses cover 2–0.2 µg/mL and 0.1 µg/mL to 100 pg/mL, with a detection limit as low as 10.02 pg/mL.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Valentina

High-throughput surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing enables detection of fentanyl (FNT) in human urine without sample preparation. The platform uses plasmonics-active plasmon-enhancing silver-coated sharply branched gold nanostars (SGNS). Silver thickness was optimized experimentally and theoretically, with maximum SERS enhancement at 45 nm. Using crystal violet as a model analyte, the assay achieves ultrahigh sensitivity and excellent enhancement uniformity. For urine spiked with FNT, two linear responses cover 2–0.2 µg/mL and 0.1–100 pg/mL, with a detection limit of 10.02 pg/mL and recoveries of 92.5%–102% (RSD <10%).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Fentanyl background and need for rapid detection

Traditional analytical methods

SERS as an alternative detection strategy

Author Manuscr ipt Author Manuscr ipt Author Manuscr ipt Author Manuscript | | HHS Public Access
Author manuscript
Mikrochim Acta. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2026 January 06. | | --- | --- | Published in final edited form as: Mikrochim Acta. ; 191(2): 110. doi:10.1007/s00604-023-06172-5 . Rapid SERS Assay for Determination of the Opioid Fentanyl Using Silver-Coated Sharply-Branched Gold Nanostars Supriya Attaa,b, Aidan J. Canninga,b, Tuan Vo-Dinha,b,c,‡ a Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. b Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. c Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. Abstract Herein, we demonstrated a high-throughput surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-sensing platform for FNT detection in human urine without any sample preparation. The sensing platform was based on plasmonics-active silver-coated sharply branched gold nanostars (SGNS) . The effect of silver thickness was investigated experimentally and theoretically, and the results indicated that SERS enhancement was maximum at an optimum silver thickness of 45 nm on the sharply spiked SGNS. The proposed high-throughput SERS platform exhibited ultrahigh SERS sensitivity and excellent enhancement uniformity for a model analyte, i.e., crystal violet. Moreover, the SERS-sensing platform demonstrated good detection sensitivity ofFNT spiked in human urine samples with two differential linear responses ranging from 2 to 0.2 μg/mL and 0.1 μg/mL to 100 pg/mL, with a detection limit as low as 10.02 pg/mL. The spiked human urine samples show satisfactory recovery values from 92.5 % to 102 % with relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 10 %. In summary, the high-throughput performance of the proposed microplate-based SERS platform demonstrated great potential for rapid low-cost SERS-based sensing applications. Keywords Gold nanostars; silver coated gold nanostars; bimetallic; fentanyl; SERS; sensing Introduction Fentanyl (FNT), one of the most effective synthetic opioid medications, is widely prescribed and used for pain medication and surgical analgesia in patients with chronic pain and cancer[1–3]. Although FNT is a powerful pain reliever, it can lead to abuse and addiction because of its strong euphoria, relaxation, and unconscious effects. The Centers for Disease This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. ‡Corresponding Author: Tuan Vo-Dinh, PhD Director, Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Biomedical Engineering Professor of Chemistry Duke University Durham, NC 27708, [USA. tuan.vodinh@duke.edu](USA. tuan.vodinh@duke.edu). Declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests Author Manuscr ipt Author Manuscr ipt Author Manuscr ipt Author Manuscript Atta et al. Page 2 Control and Prevention reported 71,238 deaths in 2021 from FNT overdoses in the United States[4]. Therefore, it is important to identify accurately and rapidly to prevent the misuse of this psychoactive substance. Traditionally, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)[5], high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)[6], and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)[7] have been used for the trace detection ofFNT. Although these methods have high accuracy, they are limited to research laboratories, which require expensive reagents, time-consuming pretreatment steps, and highly skilled expertise in chromatography, thereby making the analysis unsuitable for time-efficient routine in-field test applications. Recently, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has been attracting attention as an alternative analytical technique

FAQs

How does the proposed SERS platform detect fentanyl in human urine?

It uses silver-coated sharply branched gold nanostars (SGNS) as plasmonics-active sensing substrates and performs SERS detection in human urine without sample preparation.

What role does silver thickness play in the assay performance?

Silver thickness strongly affects the electromagnetic enhancement. Results show the strongest SERS enhancement occurs at an optimum silver thickness of 45 nm on sharply spiked SGNS.

What detection range and limit does the method achieve for fentanyl in urine?

Two differential linear responses cover 2–0.2 µg/mL and 0.1 µg/mL to 100 pg/mL, with a detection limit as low as 10.02 pg/mL.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Valentina