Highly sensitive and selective SERS detection of caspase-3 during cell apoptosis based on the target-induced hotspot effect.

Caspase-3 is an important biomarker for the process of apoptosis, which is a key target for cancer treatment. Due to its low concentration in single cells and the structural similarity of caspase family proteins, it is exceedingly challenging to accurately determine the intracellular caspase-3 during apoptosis . Herein, a biosensing strategy based on the target-induced SERS "hot spot" formation has been developed for the simultaneous highly sensitive and selective detection of intracellular caspase-3 level.