表面增强拉曼光谱技术快速检测神经性化学毒剂模拟剂

神经性化学毒剂具有毒性高、挥发性好和作用快等特点,在浓度很低的情况下就可以造成很大的伤亡,因此成为现场快速检测的难点。而化学毒剂沙林（甲氟膦酸异丙酯,GB）是一种经常用的军事神经性毒剂,该毒剂可通过抑制乙酰胆碱酯酶来破坏神经系统的功能,同时该毒剂被吸入后在人体内的降解速度很慢。为了避免和降低该类毒剂的污染和对人员伤害,迫切需要发展一种灵敏度高、准确性好、响应时间短和可便携化的检测技术检测GB。表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)检测方法具有灵敏度高、操作简单和响应速度快的特点,成为检测水中痕量化学毒剂的有效方法之一。将购买的Ag纳米溶胶进行离心,然后将其组装固定在硅基Au膜表面从而制备高SERS增强的基底来对化学毒剂模拟剂甲基磷酸二甲酯（DMMP）的快速检测方法进行研究。在实验中,通过优化团聚剂的离子强度、测试方法等来对检测条件进行优化筛选。通过对比不同的团聚剂HCl,KI,MgSO₄,NaCl和NaOH,最终得到最优的离子强度,从而确定1 mol·L-1的KI为团聚剂时具有最好的效果。分别对不同的检测方法来进行了相应的优化,通过对比芯片法和液态溶胶法,最终发现改进后的芯片法能够获得较好的检测效果。最终确定的检测方法为将1 mol·L-1的KI和待测溶液（DMMP）混匀,然后滴在事先准备的以Ag纳米溶胶为基质制得的SERS芯片上,用波长为785 nm激光的便携式拉曼光谱仪直接进行检测,最低可以测至10 μg·L-1。而在文献资料中报道美军短期（＜7 d）饮用水最大暴露安全指南规定对神经性化学毒剂最低检出限是10 μg·L-1,因此采用该SERS检测方法,满足了军队应对化学战或者恐怖袭击的行动的需要。实验结果表明该方法突破了便携拉曼光谱仪灵敏度低的局限,解决了痕量神经性毒剂现场快速检测难题,拓展了SERS技术在化学侦察领域的应用。     

Protein adsorption drastically reduces surface‐enhanced Raman signal of dye molecules

There is an increasing interest in developing surface enhancement Raman spectroscopy methods for intracellular biomolecule and for in vitro protein detection that involve dye or protein–dye conjugates. In this work, we have demonstrated that protein adsorption on silver nanoparticle (AgNP) can significantly attenuate the surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) signal of dye molecules in both protein/dye mixtures and protein/dye conjugates. SERS spectra of 12 protein/dye mixtures were acquired using 4 proteins [bovine serum albumin (BSA), lysozyme, trypsin, and concanavalin A] and three dyes [Rhodamine 6G, adenine, and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)]. Besides the protein/dye mixtures, spectra were also obtained for the free dyes and four FITC‐conjugated proteins. While no SERS signal was observed in protein/FITC mixtures or conjugates, a significantly reduced SERS intensity (up to 3 orders of magnitude) was observed for both R6G and adenine in their respective protein mixtures. Quantitative estimation of the number of dye molecules absorbed onto AgNP implied that the degree of R6G SERS signal reduction in the R6G/BSA sample is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than what could be accounted for by the difference in the amount of the absorbed dyes. This finding has significant implications for both intracellular SERS analyses and in vitro protein detection using SERS tagging strategies that rely on Raman dyes as reporter molecules. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in herbal medicine

Raman spectroscopic techniques are a group of chemical fingerprint detection methods based on molecular vibrational spectroscopy. They are compatible with aqueous solutions and are time saving, nondestructive, and highly informative. With complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) becoming increasingly popular, more people are consuming natural herbal medicines. Thus, chemical fingerprints of herbal medicines are investigated to determine the content of these products. In this study, I review the different types of Raman spectroscopic techniques used in fingerprinting herbal medicines, including dispersive Raman spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform (FT)–Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy, and confocal/microscopic Raman spectroscopy. Lab-grade Raman spectroscopy instruments help detect the chemical components of herbal medicines effectively and accurately without the need for complicated separation and extraction procedures. In addition, portable Raman spectroscopy instruments could be used to monitor the health and safety compliance of herbal products in the consumer market.     

指纹光谱病原菌快速检测研究进展与趋势

病原菌检测对于保障饮用水和食品安全,应对突发公共卫生事件至关重要。现行检测标准或方法存在操作耗时费力,成本高等缺陷,难以满足现代社会高时效性要求,因此开发操作简单、低成本的病原菌快检技术迫在眉睫。近年来,随着激光技术和光电探测技术的高速发展,能够快速获取微生物指纹信息的激光光谱引起了研究者的广泛关注,其中表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）和激光诱导击穿光谱（LIBS）由于具有快速、原位无损或微损检测等优点,在病原菌快速检测领域广受关注。SERS作为一种分子振动光谱技术,是在常规拉曼（Raman）光谱中引入具有光学信号放大作用的贵金属纳米结构,实现Raman信号数量级的提升同时能够猝灭荧光,因此可以快速获取目标分子的指纹光谱信息。然而受贵金属纳米粒子的材质、形貌、大小等自身属性,以及与待测物距离等多种因素的影响,重现性仍然是SERS在细菌检测中的一大瓶颈。LIBS作为一种新兴的原子发射光谱技术,具有多元素实时检测的能力,可以快速获取样品包括微量和痕量元素在内的所有元素信息。LIBS进行细菌分类和鉴别时,为了降低基底、共存基质的元素干扰,需采集大量纯培养细菌的光谱数据,不仅增加了检测周期,同时带来定性定量难两全的局面。结合SERS和LIBS技术在病原菌快检领域的研究现状,综述了两类方法各自的优势和局限性,并对其在病原菌快速检测领域的发展趋势进行了展望,为开发基于激光光谱的病原菌快检技术提供参考意见。     

Raman spectroscopy measurement of levofloxacin lactate in blood using an optical fiber nano‐probe

Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry were time‐consuming and expensive as the main methods for the drug analysis at present, and the samples must be pretreated. The Raman spectroscopy measurement methods were fast and simple, so the Raman spectroscopy methods for the drug analysis were explored in this paper. An optical fiber nano‐probe coated with gold nanoparticles was fabricated and used with surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to measure levofloxacin lactate. The resulting SERS spectra of levofloxacin lactate in mouse blood that was detected by the optical fiber nano‐probe clearly showed the characteristic wave numbers of levofloxacin lactate, indicating that optical fiber nano‐probes can be used with spectral techniques to analyze drugs in vitro or potentially even in vivo. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

拉曼光谱法鉴定文物及艺术品中染料的研究进展

中国是丝绸之路的发源地,染色历史源远流长。文物及艺术品中的有机染料蕴含着制作年代、原料来源、染色工艺及保存状况等丰富的信息,但因染料成分复杂、含量低、易于降解,其鉴定一直是文物分析领域的难点。拉曼光谱作为一种指纹光谱在文物及艺术品中染料分析方面具有独特的优势。系统阐述了显微拉曼光谱法(MRS/μ-Raman)、近红外傅里叶变换拉曼光谱法(NIR-FT-Raman)、表面增强拉曼光谱法(SERS)、共振拉曼光谱(RRS)法的原理、特点、局限性以及在染料鉴定中的研究进展和发展方向; 分类归纳总结出了黄栀子、姜黄等染料的拉曼光谱特性; 对比分析了紫茜素在采用不同波长激光器激发下的荧光现象; 介绍了以自制的灰绿色银胶颗粒为基底,联合薄层色谱(TLC) 分离技术及SERS鉴定茜草中的色素,表明银溶胶微粒产生的表面增强效应可显著降低拉曼光谱荧光背底。指出拉曼光谱作为一种快速、便捷的结构定性测试手段在文物和艺术品染料分析中应用前景广阔,提出多种拉曼光谱技术相结合、拉曼光谱技术与分离技术相结合以及拉曼光谱技术与远距离传导技术相结合是拉曼光谱技术的发展趋势。     

Information‐theoretic chemometric analyses of Raman data for chemical reaction studies

A methodology of multivariate chemometric techniques based on the information‐theoretic approach was applied for elucidating chemical reaction information from a Raman data array R _m×ν that arises from in situ reaction monitoring. This reaction‐induced dynamic dataset R _m×ν can be contaminated by random cosmic ray spikes found in the midst of characteristic spectral variations associated with the disappearance or emergence of Raman active reactants, intermediates and products. Such spurious cosmic spikes were identified and removed using a novel and fast numerical approach based on maximum and minimum spectral entropy principles while preserving the genuine reaction‐induced spectral variations. Subsequently, the band‐target entropy minimization (BTEM) algorithm, a minimum spectral entropy based self‐modeling curve resolution technique, was applied to recover the pure component spectra of Raman active chemical species. Information gain through the chemometric analyses was calculated using information entropies with base 2 logarithm. This sequence of information‐theoretic chemometric analyses (or transinformations) was successfully tested on the reaction spectral data obtained from alcoholysis of acetic anhydride, which contains four Raman active chemical species. It is envisioned that this series of multivariate statistical analyses will be useful in chemical reaction studies and process analytical technology (PAT) applications that utilize in situ Raman spectroscopy to monitor transient dynamic changes in chemical concentrations, and also in Raman microscopy/imaging data containing spatial variations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy for quantitative measurement of lactic acid at physiological concentration in human serum

Lactic acid is a simple and effective indicator for estimating physiological function. Rapid and sensitive detection of lactic acid is very useful in clinical diagnosis. However, the concentration of lactic acid in the physiological state is too low to be detected using traditional Raman spectroscopy. We applied silver colloidal nanoparticles‐mediated surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for rapid identification and quantification of lactic acid. The standard SERS spectra of lactic acid were defined and the 1395 cm⁻¹ band intensity was used for quantification from 0.3 to 2 mM (R² = 0.99). In clinical blood sample measurement, the ultrafiltration (cutoff value 5 kDa) can efficiently reduce background fluorescence to improve SERS performance. We established identical and optimal procedure by adjusting reaction time and volume ratio of serum and nanoparticles to obtain high SERS reproducibility. Finally, we showed that silver colloidal nanoparticles‐mediated SERS technique was successfully applied to detect lactic acid at physiological concentrations in the blood. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

半导体纳米粒子SERS基底对大肠杆菌的无损检测研究

很多致命的疾病都与细菌感染密切相关,快速、准确地检测和鉴定细菌及微生物,一直是微生物学家及有关科研工作者追求的目标,拉曼光谱可以提供丰富的谱图信息,而表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)有很高的检测灵敏度,然而一些贵金属SERS基底却容易使蛋白质变性,影响检测结果。以大肠杆菌(E.Coli)作为目标检测细菌,首先检测到大肠杆菌的拉曼光谱,之后采用两种不同的SERS基底(ZnO,Ag溶胶)进行检测。结果表明Ag溶胶基底有很强且较丰富的SERS信号,但是相对于E.Coli的本体拉曼谱峰有较大位移,说明与银溶胶相互作用的细菌存在一定的蛋白质变性过程;而ZnO纳米粒子与细菌作用的SERS信号虽然较弱,但是与E.Coli的本体拉曼信号较为相似,说明ZnO纳米粒子对E.Coli本体基本无损,这将有利于SERS在生物体系的无损检测。该结果可以为利用生物相容性好的半导体SERS基底进行细菌的检测提供有益的参考。     

Biocompatible gold/silver nanostars for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering

Raman‐enhancing properties of chitosan (CS)‐coated gold/silver nanostars (Au/AgNSs) were demonstrated by using them as a surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe. Based on the energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy element distribution maps and highly enhanced SERS spectra, we suggest that the incorporation of silver into the NS tips leads to a stronger SERS behavior. The SERS spectra of the proteins adsorbed on the NS surface greatly differ from their respective Raman spectra in both the band positions and relative intensities, indicating that the protein molecules penetrate through the CS coating layer and interact closely with the NS surface. Raman and SERS spectra of Chlamydia trachomatis protease/proteasomelike activity factor are reported for the first time, demonstrating the potential of these NSs for the development of a diagnosis method for Chlamydia based on SERS. The results showed a good SERS performance of the Au/AgNSs and their potential for SERS detection of biomolecules. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ag纳米颗粒的引入方式对TiO_2三维有序多孔/Ag复合结构SERS性能的影响

用PS(聚苯乙烯)微球作为模板制备出TiO_2三维多孔有序结构(TiO_2-3DOM),在此基础上,着重探究了银纳米颗粒的引入方式对整个TiO_2三维多孔/Ag复合结构SERS性能的影响。研究表明,通过银镜反应得到的TiO_2三维多孔/Ag复合结构是一种灵敏性强的基底,对罗丹明(R6G)分子的检测极限可低至10-10mol/L。     

Silica‐overcoated substrates for detection of proteins by surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Ag film over nanosphere (AgFON) substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are shown to be ineffective for the detection of proteins in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) because of the decomposition of the substrate resulting in a total loss of SERS activity. However, modification of these substrates with SiO₂ overlayers overcomes this problem. The SiO₂ overlayers are produced by filtered arc deposition (FAD) and are characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Their porosity is examined using Raman spectroscopy and the detection of cytochrome c and bovine serum albumin in PBS is successfully demonstrated. These findings show promise for the detection of proteins in biologically relevant conditions using Ag‐based SERS substrates. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strategy for improved analysis of peptides by surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) involving positively charged nanoparticles

A strategy for improved surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements that extends the variety of analytes accessible to SERS analysis is developed. The strategy involves inducing aggregation by mixing positively charged nanoparticles which form SERS‐active clusters when mixed with negatively charged silver nanoparticles fabricated using the Lee–Meisel process. To make positively charged nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles using the traditional Lee–Meisel process are fabricated and coated with a thin layer of silica and the silica modified with silane chemistry. Analytes with a significant amount of negative charge exhibit strong Raman bands when the strategy using these fabricated, positively charged nanoparticles for inducing cluster formation is used, enabling their detection and analysis. We envision the use of positively charged nanoparticles in cluster formation for expanding the range of analytes that can be detected using SERS and hence the range of applications SERS can play a role in. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

表面增强拉曼光谱在食源性致病微生物检测中的应用研究

食源性致病微生物导致的食源性疾病已成为全球化的公共卫生问题。快速、有效地检测食源性致病微生物是实现食源性疾病预防与控制的关键环节，也是保障食品安全的技术关键。表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)具有简单、快速、灵敏度高等优点，在食品安全、生物医学、环境监控等领域展现出良好的应用前景。介绍了近年来SERS在食源性致病微生物检测中的应用研究进展。对SERS技术概况、SERS增强理论及SERS增强基底进行了简要介绍，重点回顾了SERS在食源性致病微生物检测中的应用和发展现状。在食品安全分析方面，利用SERS与模式识别方法相结合对食品中常见食源性致病微生物能实现快速、有效鉴别，部分研究已应用于不同食品样品的分析，体现了SERS作为“指纹图谱”的分析优势；在医学诊断方面，SERS可对病理样品(如血液、尿液等)中食源性致病微生物进行快速检测，缩短了样本分析时间，使食源性疾病的快速诊断成为可能；随着微流控技术的发展，微流控平台结合SERS技术被称为“芯片实验室”应用于食源性致病微生物的检测，可提高分析的可控性，稳定性，特异性和灵敏度。通过对比分析，发现不同研究可采用不同分离方法、不同基底、不同目标捕获方式等实现了食源性致病微生物的检测，展示了不同方法间的差异性。已有研究表明了SERS在食源性致病微生物检测中应用可克服传统方法耗时等缺点，实现灵敏快速分析，为食品安全实时监控，食源性疾病即时诊断提供了有效的分析工具。同时，指出了SERS技术应用于食源性致病微生物分析依然面临很大挑战，(1)大多数研究并没有聚焦于实际样品，而标准培养液和实际样品的SERS检测存在较大差异，实际样品组分会对SERS响应产生干扰；(2)不同方法结果有较大差异，主要是由于纳米增强基底差异，吸附方式原理的差异，稳定性的差异等，因此需要更多深入研究进一步优化条件；(3)期望建立标准化的SERS方法替代传统技术，充分展示SERS作为新兴分析工具快速、灵敏、简捷的优势应用于食品安全，医学诊断等领域。将来，随着研究的深入及相关学科的发展，SERS作为极具潜力的快速分析工具，将在食品安全，生物医学等领域具有更广阔的应用前景。     

Understanding tip‐enhanced Raman spectra of biological molecules: a combined Raman,SERS and TERS study

Although conventional Raman, surface‐enhanced Raman (SERS) and tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) have been known for a long time, a direct, thorough comparison of these three methods has never been carried out. In this paper, spectra that were obtained by conventional Raman, SERS (on gold and silver substrates) and TERS (in ‘gap mode’ with silver tips and gold substrates) are compared to learn from their differences and similarities. Because the investigation of biological samples by TERS has recently become a hot topic, this work focuses on biologically relevant substances. Starting from the TER spectra of bovine serum albumin as an example for a protein, the dipeptides Phe–Phe and Tyr–Tyr and the tripeptide Tyr–Tyr–Tyr were investigated. The major findings were as follows. (1) We show that the widely used assumption that spectral bands do not shift when comparing SER, TER and conventional Raman spectra (except due to binding to the metal surface in SERS or TERS) is valid. However, band intensity ratios can differ significantly between these three methods. (2) Marker bands can be assigned, which should allow one to identify and localize proteins in complex biological environments in future investigations. From our results, general guidelines for the interpretation of TER spectra are proposed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectra of dimethoate and omethoate

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra are presented and analyzed for two important organophosphate pesticides, dimethoate (DMT) and omethoate (OMT). Very detailed SERS spectra were obtained by aggregated Ag hydrosols, both in aqueous suspension and dried on a glass substrate. The SERS and ordinary Raman spectra of DMT do not resemble each other, suggesting that a chemical reaction immediately occurs when DMT is adsorbed onto the metal surface. We propose that the reaction product is OMT, which is the oxygen analog of DMT, on the basis of the Raman and SERS spectra of OMT. Further support is derived from the calculated Raman spectra of DMT and OMT. Minor wavenumber and intensity differences that are observed between the SERS spectra of DMT reaction product and those of OMT could be related to different metal/adsorbate interaction modes. The results can be useful in the development of new analytical methods for the determination of pesticide residues in food. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于铜网置换反应的微纳结构SERS基底制备和应用

电力能源发展与国家经济发展关系密切,因此电网稳定、安全地运行是人民稳定生活的保障。而与稳定可靠的电网的运行有关的是变压器的绝缘水平,因此始终注意电气设备的状况和运行非常重要。而仅由纸绝缘产生的糠醛是目前用于评估电力变压器老化状况最常用的指标之一,所以准确测量变压器油中糠醛含量具有重大意义。拉曼光谱法可以实现对待测物的快速、无损检测,但受限于拉曼散射信号弱,对油中老化特征物这种微量物质检测难度大。表面增强拉曼光谱可以解决痕量物质检测的灵敏性问题,使溶解在变压器油中的老化特征物得到快速、无损地检测。故将SERS应用到变压器油中糠醛的检测对于变压器运行状况的评估具有重要的意义。围绕着变压器油中糠醛作为痕量物质检测灵敏度低的问题,基于置换反应在TEM铜网上制备了微纳米结构的SERS基底,以检测变压器油中的糠醛,为高效,准确地检测变压器油的老化水平提供一种快速、有效的新技术。选择了特定的实验材料,在控制特定的实验条件下基于置换反应制备出微纳结构SERS基底,经过电镜扫描对其表面形貌进行表征;在不同位置进行拉曼检测得到特征拉曼峰峰强的变异系数仅为3.55％,表明该基底的“热点”分布均匀和检测可重复性高;定性分析了一定浓度梯度的变压器油中糠醛和背景噪声的拉曼光谱。选择了1 702 cm-1的拉曼峰作为油中糠醛的特征拉曼峰。定量分析中,建立内标峰和1 702 cm-1处峰强比与变压器油中糠醛浓度的线性函数,得到良好的线性关系。使用3δ准则计算变压器油中糠醛在微纳结构SERS基底上的检测下限约为0.51 mg·L-1。研究说明基于铜网置换反应的微纳结构SERS基底对于变压器油中糠醛具有更灵敏的检测。这对于诊断电力变压器绝缘状况和维护电网稳定非常重要。     

苯并三唑表面配位化学的电化学现场拉曼光谱研究

用电化学现场表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS)研究了非水体系中苯并三唑(BTAH)在银电极表面的吸附及成膜行为,结果表明非水体系中BTAH的吸附行为随电位变化而不同。较负区间主要以中性分子形式吸附;中间电位区间主要以BTA-吸附并不可逆成膜。采用直接电化学合成技术模拟电极表面过程制备了苯并三唑与Cu, Ag, Fe, Ni和Zn等金属的配合物,并研究了中性配体三苯基膦(pph₃)对其配位过程的影响,所得产物的元素分析以及拉曼光谱研究表明pph₃的加入影响了Cu和Ag与BTAH的配位过程,并出现在最终产物中,而对BTAH与Ni, Fe和Zn的配位过程未产生影响,产物未出现pph₃。     

Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using Raman and surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous atmospheric pollutants and food contaminants, which exhibit potent carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity. Vibrational spectroscopy techniques, especially Raman spectroscopy and surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), can be potentially used as an alternative technique to liquid and gas chromatography in PAH analysis. However, there is limited information on the intrinsic Raman and SERS fingerprints of PAHs. In this study, we have acquired the Raman and SERS spectra of seven PAH compounds and compared their experimental spectra with theoretical Raman spectra calculated by density function theory (DFT). The vibrational modes corresponding to the Raman peaks have also been assigned using DFT. Characteristic Raman and SERS peaks have been identified for five PAH compounds, and the limits of detection were estimated. Such information could be useful for developing SERS assays for simple and rapid PAH identification. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adsorption and reduction reactions of anthraquinone derivatives on gold electrodes studied with electrochemical surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Electrochemical surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC‐SERS), combined with cyclic voltammetry, and the density functional theoretical (DFT) method were used to investigate self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) adsorption and reduction processes. Here, we choose the system of interest, being thiolacetyl‐terminated 2‐phenylene ethynylene‐substituted anthraquinone molecule (2‐AQ) on gold electrodes in buffered aqueous and aprotic solutions. In the buffered aqueous solution, the results of cyclic voltammetry and EC‐SERS measurements, as well as DFT calculations, indicate that the adsorbed molecules pass through a two‐electron two‐proton reduction reaction with cathodic polarization. In particular, the latter two methods confirmed the structural changes of SAMs during the process of redox reaction, 2‐AQ + 2e + 2H⁺ → 2‐AQH₂, where 2‐AQ and 2‐AQH₂ are the oxidized and reduced forms, respectively. In aprotic solutions (acetonitile), a stepwise reaction mechanism was proposed on the basis of the results of EC‐SERS and DFT calculations. The first reduction peak should be a half reaction process 2‐AQ + e → 2‐AQ⁻, where 2‐AQ⁻ is a single electron reduced form. Compared with that of 2‐AQ SAMs in the buffered aqueous solution, the results of EC‐SERS and DFT calculations in aprotic solution suggested that the solvent effect significantly influences the redox process of 2‐AQ in electrochemical interfaces. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.