Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Probes Based on Antibody Conjugated Au Nanostars for Distinguishing Lung Cancer Cells from Normal Cells

This work presents a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe based on epidermal growth factor receptor antibody (anti-EGFR) conjugated Au nanostars (AuNSs) for distinguishing lung cancer cells (A549 cells and H1229 cells) from normal cells (BEAS-2B cells). The experimental results showed that the targeting SERS probes were internalized into cancer cells by a specific receptor-mediated endocytosis. The A549 cells and H1229 cells incubated with targeting SERS probes generated much stronger SERS signals than BEAS-2B cells, indicating that SERS probes could be utilized to distinguish lung cancer cells from normal cells. The dark-field imaging and energy-dispersed spectrum (EDS) also confirmed that anti-EGFR conjugated AuNSs could be used as an efficient cancer cell targeting agent. This kind of SERS probe has great potential in the diagnosis and therapeutics of cancerous diseases due to its specific targeting, high SERS sensitivity, and biocompatibility.