Multiplex Cardiac Biomarker Profiling for Precision Coronary Artery Disease Risk Assessment Using SERS with Cubic Core–Satellite Nanostructures

An early and accurate risk assessment of coronary artery disease (CAD) is crucial for implementing effective health management strategies before the disease progresses to severe or life-threatening conditions such as myocardial infarction (MI). To this end, we present a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platform designed to simultaneously profile six circulating biomarkers in human serum, establishing a cardiac signature for precise CAD evaluation. This SERS platform integrates a gold microelectrode and a cubic core-satellite nanostructure as key components to achieve highly sensitive target detection with a limit of detection as low as 7.4 fg/mL for LDHB. By using Raman reporters as the natural bridges between the core and satellites, numerous "hot spots" were created within the nanogaps that significantly amplify the SERS signal output. Additionally, this SERS platform utilizes electrohydrodynamics (EHD) to selectively remove nonspecific binding events, further enhancing cardiac biomarker detection specificity. Notably, the acquired cardiac signature effectively distinguishes CAD and MI from other cardiac-related disorders (CRDs) in clinical samples, highlighting its potential for clinical applications.