Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Neurotransmitters

Abstract

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit information between neurons via the newlinesynaptic cleft. They form a part of complex neural systems, affecting the cognitive, behavioural newlineand emotional state of an organism. Any changes in their activity or abnormalities may cause newlinemental diseases and disorders. The focus of our study is a class of neurotransmitters known as newlineCatecholamines, which have a significant impact in attention span, motivated behaviours, newlinelearning and memory. The most abundant Catecholamines in the human body are Dopamine, newlineEpinephrine and Norepinephrine. Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is a wellknown detection technique that results in the enhancement of Raman signals of molecules in newlinethe presence of a metal surface newline