Aim: Raman spectroscopy is an analytical method with a broad range of applications across multiple scientific fields. We report on a possibility to differentiate between two important Gram-positive species commonly found in clinical material - Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis - using this rapid noninvasive technique.
Materials & methods: For this, we tested 87 strains, 41 of S. aureus and 46 of S. epidermidis, directly from colonies grown on a Mueller-Hinton agar plate using Raman spectroscopy.
Discussion & conclusion: The method paves a way for separation of these two species even on high number of samples and therefore, it can be potentially used in clinical diagnostics.
Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Staphyococcus aureus; rapid diagnostics.