Copper(II), zinc(II), cobalt(II) and cobalt(III) complexes of N-D-glucosamine β-naphthaldehyde (C17H19O6N, NG) and glycine were synthesized. The four novel metal complexes, Cu(II)C19H28O11N2(CuGNG), Zn(II)C19H24O9N2(ZnGNG), Co(II)C19H28O11N2(Co(II)GNG) and Co(III)C21H29O12N2(Co(III)GNG) were characterized by means of infrared (IR), electronic absorption spectroscopy and NMR etc. The surface-enhanced Raman spectra of the four complexes and their interaction with DNA were studied. By comparison of the surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS), the information of the four complexes' SER active s...