Surface enhanced Raman scattering as a probe of the cholesterol oxidase enzyme

Abstract

In this work, we present a sensitive method for the determination of the enzyme concentration of cholesterol oxidase, which is one of the most important analytical enzymes. Although the method is affected by sensitivity limitations, recently the Raman scattering experimental data carried out on cholesterol oxidase conjugated via a 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid organic linker with gold nanoparticles due to the surface plasmon resonance confirmed the observation of surface enhanced Raman scattering, which enables us to detect the vibrational lines belonging to PO and C=C bonds assigned to the flavin prosthetic group. This means there is a stable binding of the enzyme with nanoparticles as well as the enzyme remaining active and substantiates the possibility that prepared bio-nanosystems can be used for analytical purposes as a sensing element.