A direct detection of amino acid solutions was conducted based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate of Cu nanoparticle-coated copper vanadate nanoribbons, which were the products of mechanochemical reaction between aluminum and copper vanadate. The newly formed Cu nanoparticles were employed as excellent SERS substrate, while vanadates as linker between substrate and probe molecules, owing to the interaction between vanadate and amino acids. Here, Rhodamine 6G, tyrosine and histidine were employed as model molecules. And the SERS detection was conducted in a solution to ensure the uniformity and reproducibility of the Raman signal. The results showed that Cu nanoparticle-coated copper vanadate nanoribbons were suitable for detecting biological substances. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.