Estimation of spectra sample size for characterizing single cells using micro‐Raman spectroscopy

Single‐cell micro‐Raman spectroscopy has the potential to become a powerful, new cytometric approach for discriminating between cell types and identifying subpopulations of cells based on differences in the intrinsic, molecular content of the cells. Despite the considerable progress in demonstrating many biomedical applications of single‐cell Raman spectroscopy, an unresolved issue with this method is the inconsistent manner in which the technique has been applied experimentally to acquire spectra from a cell, which can potentially lead to irreproducible and inconsistent results from study to study. Specifically, the problem pertains to the validity of using micro‐Raman spectroscopy to sample an arbitrary fraction of the cell volume and to claim that the resulting spectrum represents the entire cell volume. In this study, we investigate the effect of sample size (i.e. the number of Raman spectra acquired from distinct locations in a cell) on the ability to generate a Raman spectrum that accurately describes the total molecular content of the cell. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a minimum sample size of Raman spectra acquired from a cell can be used in place of a full hyperspectral Raman image to achieve the same degree of discrimination between different cell populations. Lymphocytes exposed to the chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin, at different concentrations and exposure times are used as a model biological system in this study. This work demonstrates the importance of adequate spectral sampling and presents an approach for determining the minimum sample size needed to reproduce a Raman spectrum of a whole cell, which are expected to impact future single‐cell Raman spectroscopy studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of laser excitation wavelength and optical mode on Raman spectra of human fresh colon,pancreas, and prostate tissues

Early cancer detection is the central and most important factor for allowing successful treatment and resultant positive long‐term patient outcomes. Recently, optical techniques have been applied to this purpose, although each has inherent limitations. In particular, Raman spectroscopy applied in the pathological diagnosis of cancerous tissues has received increasing attention, with the merit of being highly sensitive to the biochemical alterations in tissue compositions and applicable in vivo. Nevertheless, its application has been impeded by the high background intensity, which masks the Raman signal of biological molecules. In this work, the influence of laser excitation wavelength (785 vs. 830 nm) and optical mode (single mode vs. multimode) on the background intensity of fresh human tissues was studied. Based on the results, laser with 830 nm excitation demonstrated better background reduction than that with 785 nm excitation for the same optical mode, but the Raman signal intensity was conversely reduced, and the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) not improved. In contrast, by comparing single‐mode and multimode 785 nm excitations, it was shown that the single‐mode laser with its smaller beam waist and beam propagation factor had better background reduction ability and an improvement of the SNRs. It is speculated that this decrease in background intensity comes from the effect of the optical mode on the Mie scattering from the biological tissue. High‐quality spectra based on a careful selection of both laser excitation wavelength and optical mode will benefit Raman measurements in further research focusing on spectral interpretation and histopathological correlation ultimately aimed toward intraoperative applications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

多波长消荧光拉曼光谱仪的研制及应用研究

拉曼光谱技术作为探究分子、晶体及其结构特征的有力手段,具有快速、无损、样品用量小、无需前处理且适应性强等优点,已被广泛应用于食品安全、石油化工等领域。但在拉曼光谱应用中,常常受到荧光背景干扰,导致拉曼信号降低,严重的情况下拉曼信号甚至会淹没在荧光背景中。为解决拉曼技术在实际应用中荧光背景干扰的问题,从仪器角度出发,采用二色镜对多波长拉曼光谱进行光路耦合设计,研制了近红外拉曼光谱与移频差分拉曼复合一体的多波长消荧光拉曼光谱检测系统,其中近红外拉曼光谱采用1 064 nm激光光源设计,移频差分拉曼光谱选取784.5和785.5 nm两组激光光源进行时分复用,在移频差分拉曼光谱检测的同时,亦可获得两组单波长拉曼光谱数据。通过对比同步测试和分时逐次测试的强度及峰位稳定性,验证了多波长消荧光拉曼光谱仪的同步测试性能;选取了多种荧光背景强弱不同的样品,进行了单波长拉曼、近红外拉曼及移频差分拉曼光谱的对比分析。针对丙酮、乙腈等荧光背景较弱的样品,可采用单波长拉曼光谱对样品进行定量及定性分析;针对食用油、红色塑胶微粒等荧光背景与拉曼信号强度相当的样品,可采用近红外拉曼光谱对样品进行定量及定性分析;针对红酒、棕色塑胶微粒等荧光背景较强的样品,需结合近红外拉曼光谱和差分拉曼光谱对样品进行定性分析。研究表明：通过多波长消荧光拉曼光谱检测系统的研制,在常规单波长拉曼光谱技术的基础上,将两种抑制荧光干扰技术有机结合,有效扩充了应用领域及样品检测范围。     

Comparison of molecular images as defined by Raman spectra between normal mucosa and squamous cell carcinoma in the oral cavity

Raman spectroscopy has been effectively applied to clinically differentiate normal and cancerous mucosal tissues. Micro‐Raman spectroscopy provides a tool to better understand the molecular basis for the Raman clinical signal. The objective of the current study was to utilize micro‐Raman spectroscopy to define the molecular/spectral differences between normal and abnormal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in oral mucosa (in vitro). Understanding this may help in identifying unique spectra or may be useful for in vivo application of this technology. Micro‐Raman (confocal) spectroscopy was used to obtain molecular images of normal and SCC cells of human oral mucosa. Four fresh flashed‐frozen tumor and four matched normal tongue specimens were studied. The spectra covered a wavenumber range from 300 to 4000 cm⁻¹ with a spectral resolution of 8 cm⁻¹ and a spatial resolution of 1.0 µm. The cells were located within thin sections of tongue mucosa biopsies. The excitation wavelength of 515 nm was used. We were able to obtain Raman images with rich information about the spectroscopic and structural features within the cytoplasm, cell membrane, and cell nuclei. Significant spectral differences were observed between the Raman images of normal and malignant squamous cells. The heterogeneity of tumor cells within the abnormal tissue was also demonstrated. Spectral differences demonstrated between both tissue types have provided important information regarding the origins of specific signals within the cells of each tissue type. In our search for specific spectral biomarkers, we believe that a cell surface protein, greatly upregulated in SCC cells, was discovered at 1583 cm⁻¹. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Raman spectral signatures of mouse mammary tissue and associated lymph nodes: normal,tumor and mastitis

Raman spectroscopy involves the interaction of light with the molecular vibrations and therefore can provide information about molecular structure, tissue composition and changes in its environment. We explored whether Raman spectroscopy can reliably distinguish mammary tumors from normal mammary tissues and other pathological states in mice. We analyzed a large number of Raman spectra from the tumor and normal mammary glands of mice injected with 4T1 tumor cells, which were collected using a high‐resolution (less than 4 cm⁻¹) Raman spectrometer at a fixed (785 nm) laser excitation wavelength and with 60 mW of laser power. The spectra of normal and tumor mammary glands showed consistent differences in the intensity of certain Raman bands and loss of some bands in the tumor spectra. Multivariate statistical methods—principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant functional analysis (DFA)—were used to separate the data into different groups of mammary tumors, mastitis, lymph nodes contralateral and tumor‐cell‐injected sides, and normal contralateral and tumor‐cell‐injected sides. We demonstrate that this spectroscopic technique has the feasibility of discriminating tumor and mastitis from normal tissues and other pathological states in a short period of time and may detect tumor transformation earlier than the standard histological examination stage. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

单个鼻咽癌细胞的拉曼光谱分析的研究

利用激光镊子拉曼光谱系统研究了鼻咽癌细胞株和正常人鼻咽部气道上皮细胞株的单个细胞的拉曼光谱,对于每个细胞在不同部位测3个点。结果显示：正常细胞和癌细胞的平均拉曼光谱有显著差异：正常的细胞光谱强度比癌细胞的明显要高;正常细胞的1304和1336 cm-1处峰的强度比值为1.05,癌细胞的为1.22。用PCA主成分分析和DFA判别分析分别对单个细胞的平均光谱和不同位置所取得的单独光谱进行分析,结果发现：PCA和DFA均可以把癌细胞和正常细胞正确区分,对于单独光谱,DFA的效果更好一些。同时还发现同一个细胞中不同的光谱位置对PCA和DFA的区分度影响不是很大;PCA和DFA的图中还表明癌细胞的均匀度要比正常细胞的差。以上的研究均表明：激光镊子拉曼光谱可以成为区别正常鼻咽细胞和鼻咽癌细胞的有效手段。     

人肝癌组织细胞的激光光镊拉曼光谱研究

激光光镊与拉曼光谱相结合形成的激光光镊拉曼光谱系统(LTRS)已用于分析生物组织标本,可对单个活细胞进行操控和光谱收集。从拉曼光谱特征峰位置、强度和线宽可得到有关细胞的组成、结构及细胞内物质相互作用的信息。文章应用LTRS系统,分析了来自人的恶性肝癌组织的不同病变部位标本,包括肝癌组织细胞、肝癌癌旁细胞和远离肝癌组织的肝脏正常的组织细胞,观察到了随肝癌的病变部位变化所出现的一些有趣的拉曼光谱峰的变化。正常的肝组织细胞在1 070和1 266 cm-1处的峰很明显,而肝癌和肝癌癌旁组织细胞的这两个峰则不明显,肝正常组织细胞的1 445 cm-1峰明显高于肝癌和肝癌癌旁组织细胞。已知1 070 cm-1峰代表脂类和核酸,1 266和1 445 cm-1峰代表脂类和蛋白。引起这些峰变化的物质很可能参与了肝癌的发生。上述初步研究结果表明：单细胞激光光镊拉曼光谱可以区分肝癌的不同病变部位,将是检测和分析肝癌组织标本的一种很好的方法。     

High‐resolution narrowband CARS spectroscopy in the spectral fingerprint region

Coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy is an important technique for spectroscopy and chemically selective microscopy, but wider implementation requires dedicated versatile tunable sources. We describe an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on a magnesium oxide‐doped periodically poled lithium niobate crystal, with a novel variable output coupler, used as a tunable coherent light source. The OPO's signal wavelength ranges from 880 to 1040 nm and its idler wavelength from 1090 to 1350 nm. We use this OPO to demonstrate high‐resolution narrowband CARS spectroscopy on bulk polystyrene from 900 to 3600 cm⁻¹, covering a large part of the molecular fingerprint region. Recording vibrational spectra using narrowband CARS spectroscopy has several advantages over spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, which we discuss. We isolate the resonant part of the CARS spectrum and compare it to the spontaneous Raman spectrum of polystyrene using the maximum entropy method of phase retrieval; we find them to be in extremely good agreement. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Laser wavelength dependence of background fluorescence in Raman spectroscopic analysis of synovial fluid from symptomatic joints

Gout is a disease process where the nucleation and growth of crystals in the synovial fluid of joints elicit painful arthritis‐like symptoms. Raman spectroscopy is evolving as a potential diagnostic tool in identifying such crystals; however, attainment of sufficient Raman signal while overcoming the background fluorescence remains as a major challenge. The current study focused on assessing whether excitation in 532–700 nm range will provide greater signal intensity than the standard 785 nm while not being impeded by background fluorescence. We characterized the fluorescence spectra, absorption spectra and Raman spectra of synovial fluid from patients who presented ‘gout‐like symptoms’ (symptomatic) and controls (asymptomatic). A digestion and filtration method was developed to isolate crystals from synovial fluid while reducing the organic burden. Spectral profile and photobleaching dynamics during Raman spectroscopy were observed under an excitation wavelength range spanning 532 to 785 nm. Absorbance and fluorescence profiles indicated the digestion and filtration worked effectively to extract crystals from symptomatic synovial fluid without introducing additional fluorescence. Raman spectral analyses at 532 nm, 660 nm, 690 nm and 785 nm indicated that both asymptomatic and symptomatic samples had significant levels of fluorescence at excitation wavelengths below 700 nm, which either hindered the collection of Raman signal or necessitated prolonged durations of photobleaching. Raman‐based diagnostics were more feasible at the longest excitation wavelength of 785 nm without employing photobleaching. This study further demonstrated that a near‐infrared (NIR) OEM‐based lower‐cost Raman system at 785 nm excitation has sufficient sensitivity to identify crystals isolated from the synovial fluid. In conclusion, while lower excitation wavelengths provide greater signal, the fluorescence necessitates NIR wavelengths for Raman analysis of crystal species observed in synovial aspirates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A volume‐exclusion normalization procedure for quantitative Raman confocal microspectroscopy of immersed samples applied to human embryonic stem cells

Raman microspectroscopy is a quantitative instrumental method with considerable promise for the nondestructive analysis of living biological samples. Amongst samples of particular interest are human embryonic stem cells because of their therapeutic potential and because examination using Raman microspectroscopy does not appear to adversely affect this potential. However, it can be difficult to compare different spectra obtained with this technique and to quantify the native cellular constituents of such samples because their characteristic dimensions are difficult to establish or may vary from point to point. We present here a method to normalize spectra and estimate sample thicknesses based on a reference component present in the basal cell culture medium when we perform spectroscopy on colonies of living cells. Because more basal medium is displaced from the sampling volume as the cell layer increases in thickness, and because this component is present in the medium but excluded from cells, a concomitant decline therefore occurs in the intensity of the Raman scattering from the reference component. This permits comparisons between samples because their spectra can be scaled in inverse relation to their excluded volumes. Furthermore, estimations of sample thicknesses can also be obtained based on the same concept. Thus, the absolute quantification of cellular components becomes possible because cell sample volumes can be determined. Although applied to human embryonic stem cells, the approach is sufficiently general to be adapted for use with other samples. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

液芯光纤共振拉曼光谱法检测水中生物分子研究

拉曼光谱是研究水中生物分子重要的有效方法之一,然而由于拉曼散射截面小,特别是水分子的电子激发态能级高,因此水中生物分子的拉曼光谱测量甚为困难。将液芯光纤技术和共振拉曼技术结合起来,可大幅度提高拉曼光谱强度。实验中用可以获得最大的共振拉曼光谱强度的514.5 nm Ar+离子激光激发,分别用石英和Teflon液芯光纤对水中β-胡萝卜素生物分子进行了痕量检测研究。结果表明应用石英液芯光纤和Teflon液芯光纤可分别检测浓度为10-7～10-9mol·L-1和10-9～10-10mol·L-1的β-胡萝卜素。     

Synthesis and attachment of silver nanowires on atomic force microscopy cantilevers for tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy is based on the absorption of light by nanometer‐sized metal particles, resulting in large enhancement of the Raman signal. By replacing the metal particles by a metallic nanotip, the enhancement can be localized. The resulting tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy is capable of measuring Raman spectra with high spatial resolution, effectively overcoming the diffraction limit. A successful tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy experiment depends heavily on the ability to fabricate tips of a definite metal with the appropriate shape and size, which is still a challenging process. We have prepared silver nanowires with a diameter of 200–300 nm by templated electrochemical deposition and attached them onto atomic force microscope cantilevers by focused electron beam induced deposition. We found that they produce a reproducible enhancement of the Raman signal intensity. Other metals and smaller nanostructures might also be produced, suggesting an interesting development potential for these novel nanoprobes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐Assembled Silver–Gold Nanoisland Films on Glass for SERS Applications

We present a study of resonant optical properties of gold‐protected silver nanoisland films. Silver nanoislands were grown on a glass substrate using out‐diffusion technique, the growth was followed by the deposition of nanometer‐thick gold coatings. Scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy were used to characterize morphology and extinction spectra of the grown combined silver–gold nanostructures. Micro Raman spectroscopy of the combined nanoislands has demonstrated their signal enhancement factor exceeding that one of the initial silver nanoislands.     

基于自适应免疫算法重叠拉曼谱峰的解析

拉曼光谱测量速度快,可以实现原位实时测量,现已成为过程控制中物料检测的一种重要手段。但由于环境的复杂性以及拉曼光谱信号特点,目前在线检测时难免会出现一些重叠谱峰。基于免疫算法特点,将该方法用于芳烃重叠拉曼谱峰信号的解析中,提取混合物质中单个组分拉曼谱峰信息进行分析,结果表明该方法解析快速、定量准确,相对误差低于1%,是解析重叠拉曼光谱信号的有效方法。针对现场样品检测中出现的重叠谱峰伴随荧光背景信号,提出了结合独立成分分析的自适应免疫算法,有效地解析出荧光背景信号,为复杂样品的拉曼光谱检测分析提供了新的手段。     

Fast mapping of inhomogeneities in the popular metallic perovskite Nb:SrTiO3 by confocal Raman microscopy

Confocal Raman microscopy was applied in order to investigate the homogeneity of donor doping in Nb:SrTiO₃ single crystals. Measurements of local Raman spectra revealed a systematic relation between the intensity of the Raman signal and the donor content of the crystals. We successfully elaborated a correspondence between the electronic structure and the intensity of the Raman lines using a crystal with macroscopic inhomogeneity as a demonstration sample. By mapping the distribution of the intensity of the Raman signal, we identified a characteristic inhomogeneous structure related to the presence of clusters with sizes of 5 µm to 20 µm, indicating inhomogeneous donor distribution caused by flaws introduced during crystal growth. Hence, we propose confocal Raman microscopy as a convenient technique for investigating the homogeneity and quality of doped perovskite surfaces, which are needed for various technological applications. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Micro‐Raman analysis of GaAs Schottky barrier solar cell

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells have been in the race with silicon single‐crystal cells for the highest efficiency photovoltaic devices. The annealed, irradiated Schottky barrier (SB) solar cells were characterised using micro‐Raman spectroscopy at three different regions: namely, at the (1) ohmic contact region, (2) unirradiated region and (3) irradiated region. We also present a micro‐Raman study of the damage process in annealed GaAs SB solar cells bombarded by high‐energy ions. A Gaussian line shape was fitted to the Raman spectra of the longitudinal optical phonon A₁(LO), and parameters such as intensity, full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the area under the peak were obtained for the different annealing temperatures. Biaxial stress (σ), carrier concentration (n), depletion length (L_d), dislocation velocity (ν) and life time of the first‐order optical phonon (τ) of the A₁(LO) mode of the irradiated region of the samples annealed at different temperatures were calculated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Near-infrared Raman spectroscopy of single optically trapped biological cells

We report on the development and testing of a compact laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) system. The system combines optical trapping and near-infrared Raman spectroscopy for manipulation and identification of single biological cells in solution. A low-power diode laser at 785 nm was used for both trapping and excitation for Raman spectroscopy of the suspended microscopic particles. The design of the LTRS system provides high sensitivity and permits real-time spectroscopic measurements of the biological sample. The system was calibrated by use of polystyrene microbeads and tested on living blood cells and on both living and dead yeast cells. As expected, different images and Raman spectra were observed for the different cells. The LTRS system may provide a valuable tool for the study of fundamental cellular processes and the diagnosis of cellular disorders.     

基于拉曼光谱方法研究不同剪切力下的红细胞亚损伤

利用共聚焦拉曼光谱技术,对人工心脏泵不同剪切应力下受到亚损伤的红细胞进行实验研究,验证拉曼光谱对红细胞亚损伤程度的评估能力,为血液损伤评价提供了一种新的思路。实验采集血红蛋白和红细胞的拉曼光谱标准谱图并进行对比分析,以确定红细胞谱图特征峰的归属。用血液剪切力试验平台对测试血样施加暴露时间为1 s,大小分别为0,50,100,150,200,250和300 pa的剪切力。利用共聚焦拉曼仪器,在10倍长焦物镜,532 nm激光光源波长,积分时间10 s,积分次数2次,2.5 mW功率下采集剪切应力作用后的红细胞拉曼谱图。通过归一化的方法对比红细胞的拉曼谱图变化,评估红细胞亚损伤的程度,运用曲线拟合方法对特征峰和剪切应力进行拟合,验证拉曼光谱对红细胞亚损伤的评估能力。对比血红蛋白和红细胞的拉曼光谱标准谱图发现,红细胞谱图能够反映血红蛋白的内部结构。且结果表明,拉曼光谱法可以用于区分不同剪切应力下亚损伤的红细胞,推断剪切应力可以透过细胞膜从而影响到其内部的血红蛋白结构。且随着剪切力的增大,1 376 cm-1位置左侧谱线呈现明显抬高趋势,1 549和1 604 cm-1位置的峰强增高,1 639 cm-1位置的氧浓度标记带ν₁₀振动谱带减弱。其中1 549 cm-1位置的峰强为亚铁离子高自旋带,在不同剪切力的作用下,峰强差异表现最明显,与剪切应力呈明显的正向线性关系,拟合效果良好。拉曼光谱法检测样本处理简单、耗时短、操作简便、重现性好,且可以精确的检测到细胞内部结构的细微变化,可以评估红细胞的亚损伤程度,弥补了传统评价溶血的方法的不足,为人工心脏泵血液损伤评价提供了新的技术手段,拓宽了拉曼检测方法的应用领域。     

Probing the interaction of ionic liquids with graphene using surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy

We report an in situ measurement of the interaction of an imidazolium‐based room temperature ionic liquid with both pure silver and a graphene‐over‐silver electrode under an applied electrochemical potential. At a negative applied potential, overall signal intensity increased indicating enhanced ionic liquid concentration at both silver and graphene electrodes. Vibrational modes associated with the imidazolium ring exhibited greater intensity enhancements and larger peak shifts compared with the anion indicating that the cation adsorbs with the ring and alkyl chain parallel to the electrode surface for both silver and graphene. In contrast to the silver, the surface enhanced Raman spectra of the ionic liquid near graphene showed shifts in the cation peaks even at no applied potential because of the strong π–π interaction between the ionic liquid and the graphene. Furthermore, the intensity of the graphene peak decreased in the presence of ionic liquid possibly due to the interaction between the ionic liquid and graphene. These results illustrate the effectiveness of surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy to investigate electrolyte interactions with graphene at the liquid/electrode interface. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Raman spectroscopy and microscopy of individual cells and cellular components

Raman spectroscopy provides the unique opportunity to nondestructively analyze chemical concentrations in individual cells on the submicrometer length scale without the need for optical labels. This enables the rapid assessment of cellular biochemistry inside living cells, and it allows for their continued analysis. Here, we review recent developments in the analysis of single cells, subcellular compartments, and chemical imaging based on Raman spectroscopy. Spontaneous Raman spectroscopy provides for the full spectral assessment of cellular biochemistry, while coherent Raman techniques, such as coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering is primarily used as an imaging tool comparable to confocal fluorescence microscopy. These techniques are complemented by surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy, which provides higher sensitivity and local specificity, and also extends the techniques to chemical indicators, i.e. pH sensing. We review the strengths and weaknesses of each technique, demonstrate some of their applications and discuss their potential for future research in cell biology and biomedicine.