Overview of Popular Techniques of Raman Spectroscopy and Their Potential in the Study of Plant Tissues

Raman spectroscopy is one of the main analytical techniques used in optical metrology. It is a vibration, marker-free technique that provides insight into the structure and composition of tissues and cells at the molecular level. Raman spectroscopy is an outstanding material identification technique. It provides spatial information of vibrations from complex biological samples which renders it a very accurate tool for the analysis of highly complex plant tissues. Raman spectra can be used as a fingerprint tool for a very wide range of compounds. Raman spectroscopy enables all the polymers that build the cell walls of plants to be tracked simultaneously; it facilitates the analysis of both the molecular composition and the molecular structure of cell walls. Due to its high sensitivity to even minute structural changes, this method is used for comparative tests. The introduction of new and improved Raman techniques by scientists as well as the constant technological development of the apparatus has resulted in an increased importance of Raman spectroscopy in the discovery and defining of tissues and the processes taking place in them.     

Confocal fluorescence and Raman microscopy in industrial research

 Modern chemical and pharmaceutical industrial research benefits from improved spectroscopic tools. New developments in confocal fluorescence and Raman microscopy lead to an increase in sensitivity, selectivity and speed of microscopic imaging and fluctuation analysis resulting in a better understanding of structure–property relationships essential for targeted development. In this paper we report on the application of fluorescence and Raman microscopy for characterizing the morphology of polymeric multiphase solid-state samples and on new developments in the corresponding correlation spectroscopies for the characterization of the dynamics of complex colloidal systems in the liquid state. In the case of fluorescence new technological opportunities are gained by two-photon excitation. Received: 5 February 1998 Accepted: 16 February 1998     

生命科学中的质谱学

本文扼要地叙述了近来生命科学中质谱学的发展动向和作者在这一领域中所开展的研究工作。     

A Vibrational Raman Optical Activity Study of 1,1′‐Binaphthyl Derivatives

The Raman polarized and vibrational Raman optical activity (VROA) backward spectra are simulated for a series of 2,2′‐substituted 1,1′‐binaphthyl compounds presenting a variety of torsion angles between the two naphthalene rings. The substitution prevents free rotation along this torsion angle and the chirality of these compounds is thus called atropisomerism. However, the rotation is not completely frozen so that two different conformations, namely cisoid and transoid, are found and their Raman and VROA signatures are studied. As expected, the Raman spectra are not very sensitive whereas the VROA spectra present more complex patterns, which evolve as a function of the torsion angle between the two naphthalene groups. In particular, our analysis shows that some modes can be used as a probe for the determination of the torsion angle of these molecules in solution. The contributions of both invariants to the VROA backward intensity are also assessed.     

新鲜宫颈癌组织的拉曼光谱研究

采用便携式拉曼光谱仪对新鲜宫颈癌组织、 宫颈上皮内瘤变Ⅲ级(CIN Ⅲ)组织及正常宫颈组织进行检测, 通过光谱特征峰分析比较了各组织中化学成分的差异, 归纳了3类组织的拉曼光谱特征及区别. 正常组织以脂类特征峰(817, 1127, 1176, 1450, 1769 cm^-1)为主, 而宫颈癌和宫颈上皮内瘤变Ⅲ级组织则以蛋白特征峰(755, 1003, 1372, 1542, 1577 cm^-1)为主. 病变组织的主要区别在于宫颈上皮内瘤变Ⅲ级组织在853和1542 cm^-1处出现了较明显的蛋白特征峰; 宫颈癌组织则含有明显的核酸特征峰(784, 1094, 1345 cm^-1). 通过特征峰归属及分析发现, 3类组织在磷酸二酯基团形成氢键的能力、 DNA的相对含量、 亚甲基的无序性、 酰胺Ⅰ带的CO变形振动及类胡萝卜素的有无等方面存在显著差异. 表明拉曼光谱可检测宫颈癌组织, 探索宫颈癌与宫颈上皮内瘤变Ⅲ级的联系与区别, 以早期诊断宫颈癌, 具有良好的临床应用潜力.     

Tracking the Amide I and αCOO− Terminal ν(C=O) Raman Bands in a Family of l-Glutamic Acid-Containing Peptide Fragments: A Raman and DFT Study

The E-hook of β-tubulin plays instrumental roles in cytoskeletal regulation and function. The last six C-terminal residues of the βII isotype, a peptide of amino acid sequence EGEDEA, extend from the microtubule surface and have eluded characterization with classic X-ray crystallographic techniques. The band position of the characteristic amide I vibration of small peptide fragments is heavily dependent on the length of the peptide chain, the extent of intramolecular hydrogen bonding, and the overall polarity of the fragment. The dependence of the E residue’s amide I ν(C=O) and the αCOO− terminal ν(C=O) bands on the neighboring side chain, the length of the peptide fragment, and the extent of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the structure are investigated here via the EGEDEA peptide. The hexapeptide is broken down into fragments increasing in size from dipeptides to hexapeptides, including EG, ED, EA, EGE, EDE, DEA, EGED, EDEA, EGEDE, GEDEA, and, finally, EGEDEA, which are investigated with experimental Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) computations to model the zwitterionic crystalline solids (in vacuo). The molecular geometries and Boltzmann sum of the simulated Raman spectra for a set of energetic minima corresponding to each peptide fragment are computed with full geometry optimizations and corresponding harmonic vibrational frequency computations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,2pd) level of theory. In absence of the crystal structure, geometry sampling is performed to approximate solid phase behavior. Natural bond order (NBO) analyses are performed on each energetic minimum to quantify the magnitude of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The extent of the intramolecular charge transfer is dependent on the overall polarity of the fragment considered, with larger and more polar fragments exhibiting the greatest extent of intramolecular charge transfer. A steady blue shift arises when considering the amide I band position moving linearly from ED to EDE to EDEA to GEDEA and, finally, to EGEDEA. However, little variation is observed in the αCOO− ν(C=O) band position in this family of fragments.     

拉曼光谱技术在现场快检分析领域中的应用

拉曼光谱技术以其操作简单、无损、快速、需样量少和适合含水体系分析等独特优势,加之表面增强拉曼散射技术的高灵敏特性,现已广泛应用于现场快检分析领域。该文从直接检测和间接检测两个方面,通过分析食品安全、刑事侦查、医药管理、环境监测等领域的典型示例,对拉曼光谱技术在现场快检领域中的应用及其研究进展进行了归纳总结,并展望了其在现场快检领域中的发展趋势。     

Characterization of Labeled Gold Nanoparticles for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Noble metal nanoparticles (NP) such as gold (AuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can produce ultrasensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signals owing to their plasmonic properties. AuNPs have been widely investigated for their biocompatibility and potential to be used in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics or combined for theranostics. In this work, labeled AuNPs in suspension were characterized in terms of size dependency of their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and SERS activity. The study was conducted using a set of four Raman labels or reporters, i.e., small molecules with large scattering cross-section and a thiol moiety for chemisorption on the AuNP, namely 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA), 2-naphthalenethiol (2-NT), 4-acetamidothiophenol (4-AATP), and biphenyl-4-thiol (BPT), to investigate their viability for SERS tagging of spherical AuNPs of different size in the range 5 nm to 100 nm. The results showed that, when using 785 nm laser excitation, the SERS signal increases with the increasing size of AuNP up to 60 or 80 nm. The signal is highest for BPT labelled 80 nm AuNPs followed by 4-AATP labeled 60 nm AuNPs, making BPT and 4-AATP the preferred candidates for Raman labelling of spherical gold within the range of 5 nm to 100 nm in diameter.     

Vibrational Property of α-Borophene Determined by Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

We report a Raman characterization of the α borophene polymorph by scanning tunneling microscopy combined with tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. A series of Raman peaks were discovered, which can be well related with the phonon modes calculated based on an asymmetric buckled α structure. The unusual enhancement of high-frequency Raman peaks in TERS spectra of α borophene is found and associated with its unique buckling when landed on the Ag(111) surface. Our paper demonstrates the advantages of TERS, namely high spatial resolution and selective enhancement rule, in studying the local vibrational properties of materials in nanoscale.     

Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy: Concepts and Chemical Applications

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has become a mature vibrational spectroscopic technique during the last decades and the number of applications in the chemical, material, and in particular life sciences is rapidly increasing. This Review explains the basic theory of SERS in a brief tutorial and—based on original results from recent research—summarizes fundamental aspects necessary for understanding SERS and provides examples for the preparation of plasmonic nanostructures for SERS. Chemical applications of SERS are the centerpiece of this Review. They cover a broad range of topics such as catalysis and spectroelectrochemistry, single‐molecule detection, and (bio)analytical chemistry.     

Can Raman Optical Activity Separate Axial from Local Chirality? A Theoretical Study of Helical Deca‐Alanine

Motivated by experimental work on the distinction of protein secondary structure motifs by Raman optical activity (ROA) spectroscopy, we demonstrate using density functional theory that axial chirality in structures with different local chirality can be filtered out by ROA spectroscopy. To this purpose, two diastereomers of right-handed helical deca-alanine, the (all-S) and the (R,S,R,S,R,S,R,S,R,S) form, are compared. Furthermore, we suggest to interpret calculated ROA spectra of large molecules in terms of vibrational bands rather than individual peaks. This is due to the non-homogeneous effect of the harmonic approximation as well as of the chosen electronic structure method onto the vibrational frequencies, which in a dense region of many vibrations will strongly determine the shape of the spectrum. In addition, the calculated ROA spectrum of (all-S)-deca-alanine is compared to the experimental spectrum of poly-(L)-alanine in solution.     

Deuterium‐ and Tritium‐Labelled Compounds: Applications in the Life Sciences

Hydrogen isotopes are unique tools for identifying and understanding biological and chemical processes. Hydrogen isotope labelling allows for the traceless and direct incorporation of an additional mass or radioactive tag into an organic molecule with almost no changes in its chemical structure, physical properties, or biological activity. Using deuterium‐labelled isotopologues to study the unique mass‐spectrometric patterns generated from mixtures of biologically relevant molecules drastically simplifies analysis. Such methods are now providing unprecedented levels of insight in a wide and continuously growing range of applications in the life sciences and beyond. Tritium (³H), in particular, has seen an increase in utilization, especially in pharmaceutical drug discovery. The efforts and costs associated with the synthesis of labelled compounds are more than compensated for by the enhanced molecular sensitivity during analysis and the high reliability of the data obtained. In this Review, advances in the application of hydrogen isotopes in the life sciences are described.     

Detection of Organic Colorants in Historical Painting Layers Using UV Laser Ablation Surface‐Enhanced Raman Microspectroscopy

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been increasingly used in the study of works of art to identify organic pigments and dyes in paintings, which (depending on the material) are difficult or not possible to detect by other current methods. The application of SERS to the study of paintings has been limited, however, by the lack of a sampling approach with sufficient sensitivity and spatial resolution. We show that ultraviolet laser ablation (LA) sampling coupled with SERS detection can be successfully used to study paint layers. LA‐SERS permitted the isolation of signals from colorants in individual thin paint layers in sample cross‐sections, avoiding contamination from adjacent layers. These results expand the range of analytical applications of SERS demonstrating how the technique can be used to sensitively detect minor organic components in complex matrices. While this is fundamental for the study of cultural heritage, it is also relevant in other fields such as forensic analysis, food science, and pharmacology.     

Prediction of Raman Optical Activity Spectra of Chiral 3‐Acetylcamphorato‐Cobalt Complexes

We examine calculated vibrational Raman optical activity (ROA) spectra of octahedral cobalt complexes containing different combinations of acetylacetonato and 3‐acetylcamphorato ligands. Starting from the Δ‐tris(acetylacetonato)cobalt(III) complex, the ROA spectra of isomers generated by successive replacement of acetylacetonato ligands by chiral (+)‐ or (?)‐3‐acetylcamphorato ligands are investigated. In this way, it is possible to assess the influence of the degree of ligand substitution, ligand chirality, and geometrical isomerism on the ROA spectra. In addition, the effect of the Λ‐configuration is studied. It is found that the ROA spectra contain features that make it possible to identify each of the isomers, demonstrating the great sensitivity of ROA spectroscopy to the chiral nature of the various complexes.     

Visualization of Vibrational Modes in Real Space by Tip‐Enhanced Non‐Resonant Raman Spectroscopy

We present a general theory to model the spatially resolved non‐resonant Raman images of molecules. It is predicted that the vibrational motions of different Raman modes can be fully visualized in real space by tip‐enhanced non‐resonant Raman scattering. As an example, the non‐resonant Raman images of water clusters were simulated by combining the new theory and first‐principles calculations. Each individual normal mode gives rise its own distinct Raman image, which resembles the expected vibrational motions of the atoms very well. The characteristics of intermolecular vibrations in supermolecules could also be identified. The effects of the spatial distribution of the plasmon as well as nonlinear scattering processes were also addressed. Our study not only suggests a feasible approach to spatially visualize vibrational modes, but also provides new insights in the field of nonlinear plasmonic spectroscopy.