Resonance Raman Spectra for the In Situ Identification of Bacteria Strains and Their Inactivation Mechanism

Abstract

The resonance Raman spectra of bacterial carotenoids have been employed to identify bacterial strains and their intensity changes as a function of ultraviolet (UV) radiation dose have been used to differentiate between live and dead bacteria. In addition, the resonance-enhanced Raman spectra enabled us to detect bacteria in water at much lower concentrations (∼108 cells/mL) than normally detected spectroscopically. A handheld spectrometer capable of recording resonance Raman spectra in situ was designed, constructed, and was used to record the spectra. In addition to bacteria, the method presented in this paper may also be used to identify fungi, viruses, and plants, in situ, and detect infections within a very short period of time.

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in clinical medicine

“…The limited success in culturing certain bacteria can have a significant impact on the accuracy of experiment results due to the specific growth requirements of these bacteria. To overcome the limitations of time wasting, attempts to apply Raman spectroscopy to tissues for in situ diagnosis of infectious diseases have increased (Dhankhar et al., 2021). The application of SERS is a common method to improve the SNR, which enhances the intensity of the Raman signal and can be used as an alternative to concentrated culture of bacteria.…”

Illuminating the Tiny World: A Navigation Guide for Proper Raman Studies on Microorganisms

“…Additionally, the composition of matrices in which bacteria are embedded can also be very simple such as water, urine, or blood. Water [ 106 , 107 , 108 ] and urine [ 61 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 ] samples are both clear liquid substances that can be spiked with bacteria of interest and which can then be isolated by centrifugation, filtration, and washing steps. It is also possible to spike artificial urine and apply single-cell Raman spectroscopy to identify the pathogenic bacteria [ 115 ].…”

“…In the end, not all spectroscopic laboratories are biosafety zones. In these cases, appropriate inactivation strategies are required which ensure safe sample handling and minimal sample alteration [ 108 , 155 , 158 , 198 , 199 , 200 ].…”