SERRS-based enzymatic probes for the detection of protease activity

Measurement of protease activity, for the first time using SERRS as a detection method, is reported herein. Synthetic introduction of phenylalanine to a benzotriazole azo dye allows the SERRS response to be 'switched off' and subsequent exposure to protease restores the SERRS response. The substrates exhibit varying reactivity for a range of proteases and allow for in situ, real-time analysis of protease reactivity. A limit of detection for one protease, Subtilisin carlsberg, was investigated and was established to be 50 ng ml−1.