Hybrid SERS Platforms for Enhanced Biochemical Sensing

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique for label-free, ultrasensitive biochemical detection, offering broad potential for biomedical, environmental monitoring, and defense applications. However, conventional noble-metal SERS substrates remain limited by chemical instability, insufficient enhancement reproducibility, and slow analyte detection in dilute aqueous solutions. Recently, hybrid SERS platforms that integrate plasmonic nanostructures with functional material systems—such as semiconductors, two-dimensional materials, photonic crystals, and active robotic modules—have emerged as promising strategies to overcome these limitations. In this review, we examine recent advances in hybrid SERS platforms from the perspective of material systems. Their working principles can be broadly categorized into two types: functional materials that regulate interfacial electromagnetic and chemical enhancement, and robotized systems that promote targeted analyte access or active enrichment at sensing hotspots. By linking material properties, working mechanisms, and sensing performance, this review provides a materials-based perspective to guide the rational design of high-performance, application-oriented SERS platforms.