Recent progress of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for biological and biomedical applications

The application of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in biological and biomedical detection schemes is feasible due to its excellent molecular specificity and high sensitivity as well as the capability of SERS to be performed in complex biological compositions. This critical review article summarizes the recent progress in the identification of biomolecules such as DNA and proteins as well as pathogens. Moreover, it is demonstrated, that SERS provides a deep understanding of living cells as well as their microenvironment which is needed to assess the development of diseases. The clinical relevance of SERS is proved by its application for the detection of cancer cells and tumour margins under in vivo conditions, the monitoring of drugs and examples for theranostic approaches are discussed. The review article provides a comprehensive overview about the recent progress in biological and biomedical applications since 2014.