{"id":{"repo_id":"queens","oai_identifier":"oai:queensu.scholaris.ca:1974/34648"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/queens/oai:queensu.scholaris.ca:1974/34648","repository":{"repo_id":"queens","name":"Queens University","base_url":"https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Combining Thin Film Silver Nanoparticles and Microfluidics to Create Reusable and Versatile Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Devices","abstract":"Surface enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool that can be used for detecting a wide range of analytes at extremely low concentrations. Despite its utility, SERS is plagued by reusability and reproducibility issues that limit its user base and prevalence in the analytical field. Furthermore, common SERS substrates cannot be deployed in the field, precluding them from on-site analysis. While many attempts have been made to address these issues, an easy, cheap, and satisfactory solution has remained elusive. Herein, we explore the combination of two distinct fields - nanoparticles and microfluidics - as a potential path toward solving the issues plaguing SERS. Silver nanoparticles stabilized on aluminum oxide have been explored as SERS substrates. However, many studies ignore reusability and reproducibility. The powerful interaction between silver nanoparticles, citrate, and light has been studied, however, this interaction's potential use as a washing agent for SERS has remained wholly unexplored. Microfluidic devices are portable, self-contained, and can be tailored to suit a variety of applications. While there have been studies on how microfluidics can be combined with nanoparticles for SERS, these studies have ignored the reproducibility and reusability issues in the SERS field. We explore the combination of microfluidics with silver nanoparticles and citrate to create a portable and reusable SERS substrate. In this thesis: • A microfluidic device capable of supporting in-situ nanoparticle growth and further SERS measurements is developed and the final design is printed. Soft lithography is used to create a physical microfluidic channel. • A series of previously established methods for silver nanoparticle synthesis, growth, and shape tailoring are scaled down and applied to the microfluidic device setup, absorbance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are used to confirm the success of these procedures. • The final devices are tested as SERS substrates, with methyl orange and malachite green used as Raman probe molecules, citrate is used as a washing agent to show the reusable nature of these devices. Enhancement factors and limits of detection were calculated highlighting the enhancing ability of the devices but also leaving room for further optimization and improvement.","abstract_html":"Surface enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool that can be used for detecting a wide range of analytes at extremely low concentrations. Despite its utility, SERS is plagued by reusability and reproducibility issues that limit its user base and prevalence in the analytical field. Furthermore, common SERS substrates cannot be deployed in the field, precluding them from on-site analysis. While many attempts have been made to address these issues, an easy, cheap, and satisfactory solution has remained elusive. Herein, we explore the combination of two distinct fields - nanoparticles and microfluidics - as a potential path toward solving the issues plaguing SERS. Silver nanoparticles stabilized on aluminum oxide have been explored as SERS substrates. However, many studies ignore reusability and reproducibility. The powerful interaction between silver nanoparticles, citrate, and light has been studied, however, this interaction's potential use as a washing agent for SERS has remained wholly unexplored. Microfluidic devices are portable, self-contained, and can be tailored to suit a variety of applications. While there have been studies on how microfluidics can be combined with nanoparticles for SERS, these studies have ignored the reproducibility and reusability issues in the SERS field. We explore the combination of microfluidics with silver nanoparticles and citrate to create a portable and reusable SERS substrate. In this thesis: • A microfluidic device capable of supporting in-situ nanoparticle growth and further SERS measurements is developed and the final design is printed. Soft lithography is used to create a physical microfluidic channel. • A series of previously established methods for silver nanoparticle synthesis, growth, and shape tailoring are scaled down and applied to the microfluidic device setup, absorbance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are used to confirm the success of these procedures. • The final devices are tested as SERS substrates, with methyl orange and malachite green used as Raman probe molecules, citrate is used as a washing agent to show the reusable nature of these devices. Enhancement factors and limits of detection were calculated highlighting the enhancing ability of the devices but also leaving room for further optimization and improvement.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Neokleous, Neoklis Georgios"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Chemistry","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Stamplecoskie, Kevin","Escobedo, Carlos"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-07-02","date_published":"2025-07-02","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:35:35Z","subjects":["Raman","SERS","Spectroscopy","Nanoparticles","Microfluidics"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1974/34648","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Chemistry"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.supervisor","label":"Supervisor","values":["Stamplecoskie, Kevin","Escobedo, Carlos"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Neokleous, Neoklis Georgios"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-03T13:18:11Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-03T13:18:11Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-07-02"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Raman","SERS","Spectroscopy","Nanoparticles","Microfluidics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1974/34648"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Surface enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool that can be used for detecting a wide range of analytes at extremely low concentrations. Despite its utility, SERS is plagued by reusability and reproducibility issues that limit its user base and prevalence in the analytical field. Furthermore, common SERS substrates cannot be deployed in the field, precluding them from on-site analysis. While many attempts have been made to address these issues, an easy, cheap, and satisfactory solution has remained elusive. Herein, we explore the combination of two distinct fields - nanoparticles and microfluidics - as a potential path toward solving the issues plaguing SERS. Silver nanoparticles stabilized on aluminum oxide have been explored as SERS substrates. However, many studies ignore reusability and reproducibility. The powerful interaction between silver nanoparticles, citrate, and light has been studied, however, this interaction's potential use as a washing agent for SERS has remained wholly unexplored. Microfluidic devices are portable, self-contained, and can be tailored to suit a variety of applications. While there have been studies on how microfluidics can be combined with nanoparticles for SERS, these studies have ignored the reproducibility and reusability issues in the SERS field. We explore the combination of microfluidics with silver nanoparticles and citrate to create a portable and reusable SERS substrate. In this thesis: • A microfluidic device capable of supporting in-situ nanoparticle growth and further SERS measurements is developed and the final design is printed. Soft lithography is used to create a physical microfluidic channel. • A series of previously established methods for silver nanoparticle synthesis, growth, and shape tailoring are scaled down and applied to the microfluidic device setup, absorbance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are used to confirm the success of these procedures. • The final devices are tested as SERS substrates, with methyl orange and malachite green used as Raman probe molecules, citrate is used as a washing agent to show the reusable nature of these devices. Enhancement factors and limits of detection were calculated highlighting the enhancing ability of the devices but also leaving room for further optimization and improvement."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.Sc."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Combining Thin Film Silver Nanoparticles and Microfluidics to Create Reusable and Versatile Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Devices"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.department":["Chemistry"],"dc:contributor.supervisor":["Stamplecoskie, Kevin","Escobedo, Carlos"],"dc:creator":["Neokleous, Neoklis Georgios"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-03T13:18:11Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-03T13:18:11Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-07-02"],"dc:description.abstract":["Surface enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool that can be used for detecting a wide range of analytes at extremely low concentrations. Despite its utility, SERS is plagued by reusability and reproducibility issues that limit its user base and prevalence in the analytical field. Furthermore, common SERS substrates cannot be deployed in the field, precluding them from on-site analysis. While many attempts have been made to address these issues, an easy, cheap, and satisfactory solution has remained elusive. Herein, we explore the combination of two distinct fields - nanoparticles and microfluidics - as a potential path toward solving the issues plaguing SERS. Silver nanoparticles stabilized on aluminum oxide have been explored as SERS substrates. However, many studies ignore reusability and reproducibility. The powerful interaction between silver nanoparticles, citrate, and light has been studied, however, this interaction's potential use as a washing agent for SERS has remained wholly unexplored. Microfluidic devices are portable, self-contained, and can be tailored to suit a variety of applications. While there have been studies on how microfluidics can be combined with nanoparticles for SERS, these studies have ignored the reproducibility and reusability issues in the SERS field. We explore the combination of microfluidics with silver nanoparticles and citrate to create a portable and reusable SERS substrate. In this thesis: • A microfluidic device capable of supporting in-situ nanoparticle growth and further SERS measurements is developed and the final design is printed. Soft lithography is used to create a physical microfluidic channel. • A series of previously established methods for silver nanoparticle synthesis, growth, and shape tailoring are scaled down and applied to the microfluidic device setup, absorbance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are used to confirm the success of these procedures. • The final devices are tested as SERS substrates, with methyl orange and malachite green used as Raman probe molecules, citrate is used as a washing agent to show the reusable nature of these devices. Enhancement factors and limits of detection were calculated highlighting the enhancing ability of the devices but also leaving room for further optimization and improvement."],"dc:description.degree":["M.Sc."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1974/34648"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:rights":["Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["Raman","SERS","Spectroscopy","Nanoparticles","Microfluidics"],"dc:title":["Combining Thin Film Silver Nanoparticles and Microfluidics to Create Reusable and Versatile Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Devices"],"dc:type":["thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:35:35Z"}