Skip to main content

News

You are here

Diagnostic anSERS launches affordable trace detection technology

Thursday, May 29, 2014

College Park, MD – Diagnostic anSERS has introduced a groundbreaking SERS sensor that enables trace chemical detection for only a few dollars per test, a sensor that is poised to bring SERS into the mainstream. SERS, or Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, enables measurement of a molecule’s uniquely identifying Raman “fingerprint” at trace levels. While Raman alone can only identify bulk materials, SERS enables the sample’s molecular fingerprint to be obtained at millions of times lower concentrations than would be possible using Raman alone. By applying a sample to a SERS substrate (sensor) and measuring the fingerprint with a handheld spectrometer, molecular identification can be carried out at the parts per billion level in under a minute. Despite this incredible promise, SERS has been hamstrung by the high cost of commercially available SERS substrates, at $50-100 per disposable sensor. Read more from the Diagnostic anSERS release