Surface-enhanced Raman scattering probes based on sea urchin-like Bi2S3@Co3O4 composite for the detection of dopamine during neural stem cell differentiation

Qinyan Cai; Min Chen; Zhendi Wang; Xuan Xu; Tingting Zheng

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2025.125845

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering probes based on sea urchin-like Bi₂S₃@Co₃O₄ composite for the detection of dopamine during neural stem cell differentiation

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2025 May 5:332:125845. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2025.125845. Epub 2025 Feb 2.

Authors

Qinyan Cai¹, Min Chen¹, Zhendi Wang¹, Xuan Xu², Tingting Zheng³

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Road 500, Shanghai 200241, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Road 500, Shanghai 200241, China. Electronic address: ttzheng@chem.ecnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39923712
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2025.125845

Abstract

Dopamine (DA) is a significant neurotransmitter involved in various functions of the central nervous system, containing the regulation of motor functions, arousal, motivation and reward processing. Therefore, precise measurement of DA concentrations is vital for studying different dopaminergic neural pathways and for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. Herein, we developed a new semiconductor surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) platform designed for the real-time monitoring DA release from live cells with high selectivity and sensitivity. The sea urchin-like Bi₂S₃@Co₃O₄ composite substrate exhibited not only a wide linear range from 1.00 to 1.00 × 10³ nmol/L but also a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.92 nmol/L for Methylene Blue (MB) molecules. In addition, we monitored DA release during the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into dopaminergic neurons by virtue of our constructed SERS platform in a nondestructive and in situ manner. Consequently, the developed SERS platform facilitates the direct detection of exocytotic DA from neuronal cells, enabling real-time assessment of cell viability in models of neurodegenerative disease-related cellular damage.

Keywords: Bi(2)S(3)@Co(3)O(4) composite; Dopamine; NSCs; Semiconductor; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bismuth / chemistry
Cell Differentiation* / drug effects
Cobalt / chemistry
Dopamine* / analysis
Dopamine* / metabolism
Limit of Detection
Neural Stem Cells* / cytology
Neural Stem Cells* / drug effects
Neural Stem Cells* / metabolism
Oxides / chemistry
Sea Urchins / chemistry
Sea Urchins / cytology
Spectrum Analysis, Raman* / methods

Substances

Dopamine
Bismuth
Cobalt
Oxides