Date of Award
12-1-2024
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Physics
First Advisor
Poopalasingam, Sivakumar
Abstract
A class of steroid hormones known as glucocorticoids (GCs) is essential for the body'simmune system, metabolism, and stress reaction. Highly sensitive detection techniques are required because glucocorticoids are normally found in blood and other bodily fluids in very low amounts. This study presents a novel filter-based surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrate for the sensitive detection of Glucocorticoids. The filter is pre-treated with methanol and sodium chloride (NaCl) aqueous solution, followed by the deposition of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto the pre-treated filter using a low- pressure suction filtration technique. The pre-treatment involves the gradual addition of methanol and a subsequent 10-minute soaking of the filters in NaCl aqueous solution. The AgNPs are deposited using the Silver Mirror Reaction (SMR) technique. The performance of the fabricated filter was evaluated using Rhodamine 6G as a reference analyte, and its effectiveness was compared with a commercial paper-based silver P-SERS substrate purchased from Metrohm as well as through UV-Vis spectrometry. The detectability of Glucocorticoids is evaluated by estimating the limit of detection (LOD) and comparing it with other techniques such as UV-Vis spectroscopy and P-SERS substrate. The statistical significance of the results is analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Access
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