单细胞拉曼光谱在微生物研究中的应用

拉曼显微光谱是一种能够提供0.5–1.0μm空间分辨率的单个微生物细胞内化学结构信息的研究技术。近几年来,拉曼显微光谱被越来越多地应用于微生物单细胞的研究中,它可以快速无损地检测微生物细胞内的特征化学组分。典型的单个微生物细胞的拉曼光谱包含核酸、蛋白质、碳水化合物、脂质和色素(例如类胡萝卜素)等信息,这些信息能够表征微生物细胞的基因型、表型和生理状态。所以单细胞拉曼显微光谱是一种可用于区分微生物样品的"全生物指纹"技术,它可用于研究单个微生物细胞生命阶段的转变、鉴定微生物单细胞中的色素及其他化合物的含量变化等。本文综述了目前拉曼显微光谱在微生物单细胞研究上的应用,主要包括与稳定同位素标记(stable isotope probing,SIP)、拉曼成像、光谱分类和细胞分选技术结合来探究微生物单细胞对物质吸收后特征峰的变化、推导物质循环过程、进行微生物分类鉴定和探索基因型与表型的关系。拉曼显微光谱作为微生物单细胞研究的手段之一,在代谢过程的研究、活细胞分选和细胞对物质的利用上具有广泛的应用前景。     

正常和癌变胃粘膜组织的共焦拉曼光谱初探

目的:分析研究胃正常和癌变粘膜组织的拉曼光谱特征,为拉曼光谱应用于胃癌的临床检测诊断奠定基础。方法:收集胃镜检查中活检的19例正常和12例癌变胃粘膜组织标本,采用785 nm激发光拉曼光谱仪进行拉曼光谱采集。比较分析胃正常和癌变粘膜组织的拉曼光谱特征差异并研究其区分正常和癌变组织的价值。结果:1)特征峰1 098 cm-1、1 444 cm-1、1 555 cm-1、1 660 cm-1等在胃癌组织中发生了移位,平均位移(2.57±1.28)cm-1,以红移为主;2)癌变组织中相对峰强比I1087 cm-1/I1207 cm-1≥1.87,其区别胃癌和正常胃粘膜组织的准确率、灵敏度和特异度分别为87.1%、83.3%、89.5%;3)癌组织中增加了表征蛋白质的特征峰1 262 cm-1、1 586 cm-1,但同时减少了表征蛋白质和脂质特征峰1 172 cm-1。结论:拉曼光谱不仅可以准确区分正常和癌变,而且可以探索癌变相关的分子生化改变。拉曼光谱在胃癌的跟踪发现和检测诊断中具有良好前景。     

动脉粥样硬化斑块的微区拉曼光谱检测

为探讨动脉粥样硬化斑块的微区拉曼光谱特征,以球囊损伤日本长耳白兔右侧颈总动脉后予以高脂饮食喂养,在实验过程中监测体重和血脂变化情况。3个月后,以中国斑点蝰蛇毒和组胺加以触发使斑块破裂,将动物处死并查找动脉硬化斑块,动脉组织经大体病理分类后,进行微区拉曼光谱及病理检测。结果显示:动脉粥样硬化斑块的拉曼光谱图在1450及1660cm-1处均有明显的胆固醇等脂质特征峰。特征峰曲线下相对面积统计结果表明:明显动脉粥样硬化斑块的谱峰下相对面积(5.80×10-3±3.51×10-3)显著高于轻度动脉粥样硬化组织(2.01×10-3±1.49×10-3)及正常动脉组织(1.01×10-3±0.94×10-3),P<0.05。正常动脉组织拉曼光谱曲线较光滑,无明显特征峰。血栓形成处拉曼光谱图荧光背底较强,未见特征谱峰。该研究结果证明微区拉曼光谱可以对动脉粥样硬化斑块的胆固醇等脂质含量进行特异性定量检测,表明微区拉曼光谱是评估动脉粥样硬化程度及斑块稳定性的可行方法。     

二甲基亚砜对离体猪皮肤组织的拉曼光谱的影响

拉曼光谱技术作为鉴定生物分子种类最有力的分析工具之一,具有快速、简单、无损、准确等优点.目前,拉曼光谱已被国内外学者广泛开展了在人体组织的应用研究,但由于生物组织具有高散射性,因此限制了拉曼光谱对其的检测深度.本文主要采用光透明剂--二甲基亚砜对组织拉曼光谱的影响进行研究,对离体猪皮组织的不同深度（100 μm,200 μm,300 μm,400 μm）拉曼光谱强度随处理前、后不同时间（0 min,10 min,20 min,30 min,60 min）的变化进行对比.结果发现,不管是经二甲基亚砜处理前还是后,都出现随着距猪皮组织表面的深度加深,其拉曼光谱强度都不断减少;同时发现各层猪皮组织随着处理后时间的加长,其特征峰的强度不断加强,信噪比逐渐提高,在处理后的60 min效果最好;而且出现了在经二甲亚砜处理前看不见的峰（1 126 cm-1和1 426 cm-1）.结果表明：5%DMSO对组织的处理能增强其拉曼光谱的强度,同时也能使拉曼光谱仪的信噪比提高,并且使组织谱图中特征峰也得到相应的增加.     

拉曼光谱在皮肤领域的研究进展

拉曼光谱是一种新型的光学检测技术,常用于材料鉴定。近年来,随着无创检测需求的增加,拉曼光谱逐渐应用于疾病诊断、物质鉴别等生物领域。综述了拉曼光谱在皮肤领域的研究进展,及其对皮肤组织成分鉴别和皮肤疾病诊断的价值,以期推动拉曼光谱广泛应用于皮肤病学的机理研究和临床诊断。     

大鼠大脑皮质与纹状体显微拉曼光谱的研究

用Spex-1428显微激光拉曼光谱仪测定正常大鼠大脑皮质和纹状体的激光拉曼光谱的变化,发现正常大鼠大脑皮质和纹状体的激光拉曼光谱在模式上大同小异,包含有十分丰富的生物大分子结构信息。结果如下：（1）在大脑皮质和纹状体同时出现且性状亦相似的有以下一些特征峰：808cm^-1的特征峰,对应于A型DNA的特征峰;832cm^-1和836cm^-1对就于酪氨酸（Tyr)环的振动峰;1020cm^-1和1046cm^-1相当于蛋白质中氨基酸内的C－N伸缩振动峰;1330cm^-1相当于腺嘌呤环的C＝C和C－N伸缩振动峰;1544cm^-1相当于酰胺Ⅱ的N－H平面内弯曲振动和C－N伸缩援峰;1684cm^-1对应蛋白质二级结构中的转角（turn)结构。（2）大脑皮质较纹状体明显的特征峰：1092cm^-1的DNA骨架的对3称振动峰;1350cm^-1的色氨酸峰;1690cm^-1为尿嘧啶的C＝O振动峰。（3）纹状体较大脑皮质明显的特征峰;1450－1463cm^-1为蛋白质CH2弯曲振动的特征峰带,纹状体在此区段有1454cm^-1峰,而大脑皮质在此区域比较低平;1490cm^-1,为鸟嘌呤的特征峰。结果显示：显微拉曼光谱揭示的大脑皮质和纹状体的生物大分子的结构成分信息十分丰富,既有共性也有差异,显微拉曼光谱是一种十分灵敏的研究手段。     

生物组织拉曼光谱数据的统计分析

拉曼光谱技术在生命科学领域已取得较为广泛的研究与应用,如何从低信噪比、质量差的拉曼光谱信号提取并充分利用谱图中所含信息,对光谱后续分析、样品的归类等至关重要.本文首先明确了生物组织拉曼光谱统计分析中几个重要的概念,进而对拉曼光谱数据的预处理,光谱分析研究中较为常用的几种多元统计方法进行了归纳、对比与分析.     

褪黑素对癫痫病作用的激光拉曼光谱研究

分别对正常状态,癫痫状态以及癫痫状态注射褪黑素后的Wistar大鼠的大脑皮质上清液样品进行了拉曼光谱分析.研究表明三种样品的拉曼特征峰分别为波数1 654 cm-1、1 623 cm-1及1 632 cm-1.它们有明显的区别.癫痫状态样品光谱在波数1 654 cm-1位置幅值有所减小;注射褪黑素样品光谱在波数1 654 cm-1位置幅值有所增加,证明褪黑素对癫痫病有抑制作用.     

唇腺炎性病变组织的共聚焦显微拉曼光谱特征研究

目的:研究唇腺炎性病变组织的拉曼光谱指纹特征,为拉曼光谱技术临床鉴别诊断唇腺炎性病变提供理论基础。方法:收集舍格伦综合征病变唇腺30例、唇腺急性炎症组织18例及正常唇腺组织30例,应用激光共聚焦显微拉曼光谱仪对唇腺组织进行拉曼光谱检测。应用主成分分析法(Principal component analysis,PCA)及判别函数(Discrimination function analysis,DFA)对光谱数据进行分析,研究唇腺组织光谱指纹诊断价值。结果:唇腺炎症组织与正常组织光谱间存在光谱指纹差异,这些差异代表了某些蛋白、核酸及脂类物质等生物大分子发生改变。PCA-DFA分析发现这些差异性拉曼光谱具有鉴别诊断价值,可以区分不同唇腺组织,总体诊断准确率达91.8%,经交互验证后准确率为89.4%。结论:不同唇腺炎症组织及正常组织间拉曼光谱存在差异,不仅揭示生物大分子改变,还具有临床鉴别诊断价值。拉曼光谱技术在唇腺炎性病变组织鉴别诊断具有巨大应用潜力。     

利用PCA-LDA和参数-CART方法对直肠癌血清拉曼光谱的分析

本文利用拉曼光谱技术检测由直肠癌的发生导致的血清成分的变化。比较了直肠癌患者和对照组之间血清拉曼光谱的差异,并对术后直肠癌患者血清拉曼光谱的变化也进行了比较,以监测术后治疗效果。结果表明在某些波数位置不同组的拉曼峰有统计学意义的变化,这些变化反应了血清中相应的生物物质的改变。之后,主成分分析(PCA)及峰强比参数这两种方法被用于原始拉曼光谱的特征变量的提取。将线性判别分析(LDA)和分类回归树(CART)两种判别分析法用于特征变量的判别分析。PCA-LDA和参数-CART方法的诊断准确率分别为87%和90%。     

Biochemical correlation of Raman spectra of normal,benign and malignant breast tissues: A spectral deconvolution study

The aim of this study was to understand and correlate spectral features and biochemical changes in normal, fibroadenoma and infiltrating ductal carcinoma of breast tissues using Raman spectra that were part of the spectroscopic models developed and evaluated by us earlier. Spectra were subjected to curve fitting and intensities plots of resultant curve resolved bands were computed. This study has revealed that fat (1301 and 1440 cm^?1), collagen (1246, 1271, and 1671 cm^?1) and DNA (1340 and 1480 cm^?1) bands have strong presence in normal, benign and malignant breast tissues, respectively. Intensity plots of various combinations of curved resolved bands were also explored to classify tissue types. Combinations of fat (1301 cm^?1) and collagen (1246, 1271, and 1671 cm^?1)/amide I; DNA (1340 cm^?1) and fat (1301 cm^?1); collagen (1271 cm^?1) and DNA (1480 cm^?1) are found to be good discriminating parameters. These results are in tune with findings of earlier studies carried out on western population as well as our molecular biological understanding of normal tissues and neoplastic processes. Thus the finding of this study further demonstrates the efficacy Raman spectroscopic approaches in diagnostic applications as well as in understanding molecular phenomenon in breast cancers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 91: 539–546, 2009. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The “Published Online”date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com     

Raman microspectroscopic and dynamic vapor sorption characterization of hydration in collagen and dermal tissue

Water is an integral part of collagen's triple helical and higher order structure. Studies of model triple helical peptides have revealed the presence of repetitive intrachain, interchain, and intermolecular water bridges (Bella et al., Structure 1995, 15, 893-906). In addition, an extended cylinder of hydration is thought to be responsible for collagen fiber assembly. Confocal Raman spectroscopy and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) measurements of human Type I collagen and pigskin dermis were performed to probe relative humidity (RH)-dependent differences in the nature and level of collagen hydration. Raman spectra were also acquired as a function of time for both Type I collagen and pigskin dermis samples upon exchange of a 100% RH H(2) O to deuterium oxide (D(2) O) environment. Alterations in Amide I and III modes were consistent with anticipated changes in hydrogen bonding strength as RH increased and upon H → D exchange. Of note is the identification of a Raman spectral marker (band at 938 cm(-1) ) which appears to be sensitive to alterations in collagen-bound water. Analysis of DVS isotherms provided a quantitative measure of adsorbed and absorbed water vapor consistent with the Raman results. The development of a Raman spectral marker of collagen hydration in intact tissue is relevant to diverse fields of study ranging from the evaluation of therapeutics for wound healing to hydration of aging skin.     

Validation model for Raman based skin carotenoid detection

Raman spectroscopy holds promise as a rapid objective non-invasive optical method for the detection of carotenoid compounds in human tissue in vivo. Carotenoids are of interest due to their functions as antioxidants and/or optical absorbers of phototoxic light at deep blue and near UV wavelengths. In the macular region of the human retina, carotenoids may prevent or delay the onset of age-related tissue degeneration. In human skin, they may help prevent premature skin aging, and are possibly involved in the prevention of certain skin cancers. Furthermore, since carotenoids exist in high concentrations in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and are routinely taken up by the human body through the diet, skin carotenoid levels may serve as an objective biomarker for fruit and vegetable intake. Before the Raman method can be accepted as a widespread optical alternative for carotenoid measurements, direct validation studies are needed to compare it with the gold standard of high performance liquid chromatography. This is because the tissue Raman response is in general accompanied by a host of other optical processes which have to be taken into account. In skin, the most prominent is strongly diffusive, non-Raman scattering, leading to relatively shallow light penetration of the blue/green excitation light required for resonant Raman detection of carotenoids. Also, sizable light attenuation exists due to the combined absorption from collagen, porphyrin, hemoglobin, and melanin chromophores, and additional fluorescence is generated by collagen and porphyrins. In this study, we investigate for the first time the direct correlation of in vivo skin tissue carotenoid Raman measurements with subsequent chromatography derived carotenoid concentrations. As tissue site we use heel skin, in which the stratum corneum layer thickness exceeds the light penetration depth, which is free of optically confounding chromophores, which can be easily optically accessed for in vivo RRS measurement, and which can be easily removed for subsequent biochemical measurements. Excellent correlation (coefficient R = 0.95) is obtained for this tissue site which could serve as a model site for scaled up future validation studies of large populations. The obtained results provide proof that resonance Raman spectroscopy is a valid non-invasive objective methodology for the quantitative assessment of carotenoid antioxidants in human skin in vivo.     

Noninvasive assessments of skin glycated proteins by fluorescence and Raman techniques in diabetics and nondiabetics

Diabetes is a complex metabolic disease and has chronic complications. It has been considered a serious public health problem. The aim of the current study was to evaluate skin glycated proteins through fluorescence and Raman techniques. One hundred subjects were invited to participate in the study. Six volunteers did not attend due to exclusion criteria or a change of mind about participating. Therefore, 94 volunteers were grouped according to age range (20‐80 years), health condition (nondiabetic, with insulin resistance [IR] and/or diabetic) and Fitzpatrick skin type (I‐VI). The fluorescence spectrometer and the portable Raman spectroscopy system were used to measure glycated proteins from the skin. There was elevated skin autofluorescence in healthy middle‐aged and elderly subjects, as well as in patients with IR and/or diabetes. Regarding Raman spectroscopy, changes in the skin hydration state, degradation of type I collagen and greater glycation were related for diabetes and chronological aging. Weak and positive correlation between the skin autofluorescence and the Raman peaks ratio (855/876) related to the glycated proteins was also found. Raman spectroscopy shows several bands for spectral analyses, complementing the fluorescence data. Therefore, this study contributes to understanding of the optical of human skin for noninvasive diabetes screening.      

Spectrally resolved multiphoton imaging of in vivo and excised mouse skin tissues

The deep tissue penetration and submicron spatial resolution of multiphoton microscopy and the high detection efficiency and nanometer spectral resolution of a spectrograph were utilized to record spectral images of the intrinsic emission of mouse skin tissues. Autofluorescence from both cellular and extracellular structures, second-harmonic signal from collagen, and a narrowband emission related to Raman scattering of collagen were detected. Visualization of the spectral images by wavelength-to-RGB color image conversion allowed us to identify and discriminate tissue structures such as epidermal keratinocytes, lipid-rich corneocytes, intercellular structures, hair follicles, collagen, elastin, and dermal cells. Our results also showed morphological and spectral differences between excised tissue section, thick excised tissue, and in vivo tissue samples of mouse skin. Results on collagen excitation at different wavelengths suggested that the origin of the narrowband emission was collagen Raman peaks. Moreover, the oscillating spectral dependency of the collagen second-harmonic intensity was experimentally studied. Overall, spectral imaging provided a wealth of information not easily obtainable with present conventional multiphoton imaging systems.     

Label-free biochemical imaging of heart tissue with high-speed spontaneous Raman microscopy

Label-free imaging is desirable for elucidating morphological and biochemical changes of heart tissue in vivo. Spontaneous Raman microscopy (SRM) provides high chemical contrast without labeling, but presents disadvantage in acquiring images due to low sensitivity and consequent long imaging time. Here, we report a novel technique for label-free imaging of rat heart tissues with high-speed SRM combined with resonance Raman effect of heme proteins. We found that individual cardiomyocytes were identified with resonance Raman signal arising mainly from reduced b- and c-type cytochromes, and that cardiomyocytes and blood vessels were imaged by distinguishing cytochromes from oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin in intact hearts, while cardiomyocytes and fibrotic tissue were imaged by distinguishing cytochromes from collagen type-I in infarct hearts with principal component analysis. These results suggest the potential of SRM as a label-free high-contrast imaging technique, providing a new approach for studying biochemical changes, based on the molecular composition, in the heart.     

Observations of multiscale, stress-induced changes of collagen orientation in tendon by polarized Raman spectroscopy

Collagen is a versatile structural molecule in nature and is used as a building block in many highly organized tissues, such as bone, skin, and cornea. The functionality and performance of these tissues are controlled by their hierarchical organization ranging from the molecular up to macroscopic length scales. In the present study, polarized Raman microspectroscopic and imaging analyses were used to elucidate collagen fibril orientation at various levels of structure in native rat tail tendon under mechanical load. In situ humidity-controlled uniaxial tensile tests have been performed concurrently with Raman confocal microscopy to evaluate strain-induced chemical and structural changes of collagen in tendon. The methodology is based on the sensitivity of specific Raman scattering bands (associated with distinct molecular vibrations, such as the amide I) to the orientation and the polarization direction of the incident laser light. Our results, based on the changing intensity of Raman lines as a function of orientation and polarization, support a model where the crimp and gap regions of collagen hierarchical structure are straightened at the tissue and molecular level, respectively. However, the lack of measurable changes in Raman peak positions throughout the whole range of strains investigated indicates that no significant changes of the collagen backbone occurs with tensing and suggests that deformation is rather redistributed through other levels of the hierarchical structure.     

Non-contact, Label-free Monitoring of Cells and Extracellular Matrix using Raman Spectroscopy

Non-destructive, non-contact and label-free technologies to monitor cell and tissue cultures are needed in the field of biomedical research.^1-5 However, currently available routine methods require processing steps and alter sample integrity. Raman spectroscopy is a fast method that enables the measurement of biological samples without the need for further processing steps. This laser-based technology detects the inelastic scattering of monochromatic light.⁶ As every chemical vibration is assigned to a specific Raman band (wavenumber in cm^-1), each biological sample features a typical spectral pattern due to their inherent biochemical composition.^7-9 Within Raman spectra, the peak intensities correlate with the amount of the present molecular bonds.¹ Similarities and differences of the spectral data sets can be detected by employing a multivariate analysis (e.g. principal component analysis (PCA)).¹⁰Here, we perform Raman spectroscopy of living cells and native tissues. Cells are either seeded on glass bottom dishes or kept in suspension under normal cell culture conditions (37 °C, 5% CO₂) before measurement. Native tissues are dissected and stored in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 4 °C prior measurements. Depending on our experimental set up, we then either focused on the cell nucleus or extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins such as elastin and collagen. For all studies, a minimum of 30 cells or 30 random points of interest within the ECM are measured. Data processing steps included background subtraction and normalization.     

Exclusion of dextrans by meshworks of collagenous fibres.

Insoluble collagen from human dermis was equilibrated in a physiological medium with mixtures of 3H2O and fluorescein-conjugated dextrans of different molecular weights. Dextrans of mol.wts. greater than 10(5) were excluded from a volume of 3.82+/-0.87 ml(S.D.) per g of collagen; dextrans of lower molecular weight occupied a larger volume. The apparent excluded volume was proportional to the weight of the collagen. Dansylated albumin behaved similarly to dextran; the polymeric collagen from rat skin exhibited a much larger excluded volume than the insoluble collagen. These results indicated that the volume available to the plasma proteins in human dermis was limited by insoluble collagen as well as by the glycosaminoglycans of the tissue.     

Rapid acquisition of Raman spectral maps through minimal sampling: applications in tissue imaging

A method is presented for acquiring high‐spatial‐resolution spectral maps, in particular for Raman micro‐spectroscopy (RMS), by selectively sampling the spatial features of interest and interpolating the results. This method achieves up to 30 times reduction in the sampling time compared to raster‐scanning, the resulting images have excellent correlation with conventional histopathological staining, and are achieved with sufficient spectral signal‐to‐noise ratio to identify individual tissue structures. The benefits of this selective sampling method are not limited to tissue imaging however; it is expected that the method may be applied to other techniques which employ point‐by‐point mapping of large substrates. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)