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In the Black
04 July 2018

In the Black

Three million times smaller than an expectant crowd, these tiny needles of black silicon are nevertheless waiting for something. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a common technique used to spot harmful substances, looking for tell-tale chemical fingerprints in potentially carcinogenic or even explosive samples. But this is only possible after the mystery molecules have attached to a microscopic platform, or substrate. There’s a problem though, many substrates used in SERS react in some way with the chemicals they grab on to, clouding accurate analysis. Black silicon is inert – it doesn’t react with chemical samples, making it ideal as a substrate. Pictured here using scanning electron microscopy, its crystalline prongs are just waiting to grab onto something dangerous.

Written by John Ankers

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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