Cell imaging by graphene oxide based on surface enhanced Raman scattering

Abstract

Compared with carbon nanotubes and graphene, graphene oxide (GO) exhibits excellent water solubility and biocompatibility in addition to the characteristic G band in Raman spectra. Therefore GO might be able to act as a flexible Raman probe to image cells or tissues through Raman mapping. However, the weak intensity of the G band restricts such applications of GO. Here we decorated GO with Au nanoparticles and found that the Raman intensity of GO in aqueous dispersions were remarkably enhanced by the surface enhancement effect. Therefore, rapid Raman imaging for Hela 229 cells was realized using Au/GO hybrids as Raman probes. The cell internalization mechanism of GO and Au/GO hybrids were also studied using Raman imaging. An endocytosis pathway was proposed from the results. In addition, the aqueous dispersions of Au/GO hybrids are stable for several weeks. Therefore, relying on the surface enhancement effect of Au nanoparticles, GO exhibits great potential as a general Raman imaging tool for biosystems.