Employment of Au and Ag nanoparticles in the identification of compounds using TLC-SERS

• Grant number: 12/17522-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: April 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Celly Mieko Shinohara Izumi
• Grantee: Mário Luis Araújo Rocha
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The SERS spectroscopy (Surface-enhanced Raman scattering) is a sensitive technique and as it is a vibrational technique, it is highly specific, allowing the structural identification of a molecule. In this project, we will use the SERS technique coupled to the thin layer chromatography (TLC) in the separation and identification of some compounds. In this study, we will investigate the TLC-SERS of model molecules - molecules with well-characterized Raman and SERS spectra as Rhodamine 6G, Tetraphenylporphyrin, and Cu(II)-tetraphenylporphyrin, and a pharmaceutical drug, tibolone. Metallic nanoparticles of Au and Ag are one of the most active SERS substrates used in the present. Nanoparticles of both metals will be prepared in different shapes and sizes, and will be impregnated over the chromatographic plate, allowing the obtainment of the SERS spectrum of the substances after the chromatographic separation. We will investigate the influence of the immobilization of nanoparticles on TLC plates on the intensity of the SERS signal. Additionally, we will perform a comparative study of the performance of the nanoparticles in different shapes and sizes at the intensity of the signal TLC-SERS using exciting radiation in the visible (633nm) and in the NIR (1064 nm).(AU)