Composite organic inorganic nanoclusters as carriers and identifiers of tester molecules

摘要

Metallic nanoclusters capable of providing an enhanced Raman signal from an organic Raman-active molecule incorporated therein are provided. The nanoclusters are generally referred to as COINs (composite organic inorganic nanoparticles) and are capable of acting as sensitive reporters for analyte detection. Embodiments of the invention provide methods for detecting and quantitating enzyme activity. Further, the parallel assay capabilities of COINs allow libraries of compounds and molecules to be tested for enzyme activity.