Ionic liquid-based liposome for selective SERS detection.

An ionic liquid (IL)-based liposome was utilized as a substrate to construct a SERS platform. The isotropy of the IL outer surface together with its ion-exchange property led to the array-like growth of Au nanoparticles (NPs), generating hot-spots and resulting in anionic probes being present on the hot-spot regions. The simultaneous strategy of enrichment and localization endowed the platform with ability to detect trace amounts of anionic probes.