“The synthesis, characterisation and application of plasmonic nanostructures for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy” Doctoral Thesis

Author, institution: Lina Ramanauskaitė, Kaunas University of Technology

Science Area, Field of Science: Physical Sciences, Chemistry – 03P

Scientific Supervisor: Prof. Habil. Dr Valentinas SNITKA (Kaunas University of Technology, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, 03P).

Dissertation Defence Board of Chemistry Science Field:
Prof. Dr. Habil. Algirdas Šačkus (Kaunas University of Technology, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, 03P) – chairman,
Prof. Dr. Vytautas Getautis (Kaunas University of Technology, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, 03P)
Dr. Arūnas Jagminas (Fizinių ir technologijos mokslų centras, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, 03P)
Dr. Marco Lazzarino (National Research Council, Italy, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, 03P)
Prof. Dr. Habil. Vytautas Mickevičius (Kaunas University of Technology, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, 03P)

The Doctoral Dissertation is available at the library of Kaunas University of Technology (K. Donelaičio St. 20, Kaunas)

Annotation:
In recent years, research in nanotechnology has grown rapidly, thus proposing novel solutions and innovations in analytical science. Most of the existing devices and methods used for the characterisation of the target objects at the nanoscale provide information about the shapes, surface morphology, electrical and mechanical properties of the nanoobjects. However, there is a lack of devices providing complementary information about the physical properties and chemical composition of the objects with a nanometric resolution at the same time. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a an analytical tool enabling diverse information to be obtained with a high sensitivity. Such capabilities make SERS attractive for the detection of molecular traces on surfaces, vapours or liquids. Moreover, the increasing numbers of products that contain nanoparticles require extensive research focused on their influence on human health. In this work, novel methodologies for the synthesis of controllable shape SERS substrates have been proposed. The interaction of L-alanyl-L-tryptophan dipeptide with a nanostructured Ag surface has been investigated for the first time. The novel methodology for the local reduction of graphene oxide on the nanostructured silver surface has been proposed. The novel methodology for the LSP stimulated synthesis of polyaromatic hydrocarbons has been proposed. It was determined that the synthesized SERS substrates allow the detection of α-synuclein and benzylpenicillin traces in water and milk respectively.