Raman Spectroscopy: Lighting Up the Future of Microbial Identification

Future Microbiology ^ | 10/11/2011 | Lorna Ashton; Katherine Lau; Catherine L Winder; Royston Goodacre

[neverdem]

Posted: 10/11/2011; Future Microbiol. 2011;6(9):991-997. © 2011 Future Medicine Ltd.

Abstract and Introduction

Over the last decade Raman spectroscopy has become established as a physicochemical technique for the rapid identification of microbes. This powerful analytical method generates a spectroscopic fingerprint from the microbial sample, which provides quantitative and qualitative information that can be used to characterize, discriminate and identify microorganisms, in both bacteria slurry and at the single-cell level. Recent developments in Raman spectroscopy have dramatically increased in recent years due to the enhancement of the signal by techniques including tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy and due to the availability of user-friendly instrumentation and software. The result of this has been reduced cost and rapid collection time, and it has allowed the nonspecialist access to this physical sciences approach for biological applications. In this article, we will briefly explain the technique of Raman spectroscopy and discuss enhancement techniques, including the recent application of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to microbiology, as well as the move towards rapid microbial identification with Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, recent studies have combined Raman spectroscopy with microfluidic devices, giving greater control of sample conditions, which will no doubt have an important impact in the future development of Raman spectroscopy for microbial identification...

[neverdem]

For those of you who took microbiology way back when...

[freedumb2003]

Appears to require registration.

[neverdem]

ramanspectroscopy now is a keyword for a grand total of two articles on this forum.

FReepmail me if you want on or off my combined microbiology/immunology ping list.

[neverdem]

Appears to require registration.

I guess I registered years ago. I'm sorry about that.

I wanted a primer on Raman spectroscopy. Medscape is a reliable source. If you don't want to register, Wikipedia is not a bad source for science and technology subjects as long as it doesn't involve politics.

[JRandomFreeper]

They use those noodles we ate back in school daze to ID microbes? Who knew?

/johnny

[imardmd1]

Able to read this through with some understanding. My PhD dissertation used laser Raman spectroscopy to identify structure of glass through molecular vibrstions of certain Si-O groupings, that was in the early '70s. Hard to believe the ability to narrow the beam, limit the volume, yet get anti-Stokes readable, let alone reproducible spectra! Our long-ago methodology was so very crude --- way beyond my poor head now.

Thanks for the challenge! Not for the usual FReeper.

[vetvetdoug]

Burgey’s will never be the same.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the tip. I never heard of him before. I only had micro in med school. Chemistry was my major in college, but little or nothing was said about Raman Spectroscopy in the early 1970s.