Mechanical Trap Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Three-Dimensional Surface Molecular Imaging of Single Live Cells

Qianru Jin; Ming Li; Beril Polat; Santosh K Paidi; Aimee Dai; Amy Zhang; Jayson V Pagaduan; Ishan Barman; David H Gracias

doi:10.1002/anie.201700695

Mechanical Trap Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Three-Dimensional Surface Molecular Imaging of Single Live Cells

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Mar 27;56(14):3822-3826. doi: 10.1002/anie.201700695. Epub 2017 Feb 15.

Authors

Qianru Jin¹, Ming Li^{2

3}, Beril Polat¹, Santosh K Paidi³, Aimee Dai¹, Amy Zhang¹, Jayson V Pagaduan¹, Ishan Barman^{3

4}, David H Gracias^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410083, China.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
⁴ Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University, USA.
⁵ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, USA.

PMID: 28199758
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201700695

Abstract

Reported is a new shell-based spectroscopic platform, named mechanical trap surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (MTSERS), for simultaneous capture, profiling, and 3D microscopic mapping of the intrinsic molecular signatures on the membrane of single live cells. By leveraging the functionalization of the inner surfaces of the MTs with plasmonic gold nanostars, and conformal contact of the cell membrane, MTSERS permits excellent signal enhancement, reliably detects molecular signatures, and allows non-perturbative, multiplex 3D surface imaging of analytes, such as lipids and proteins on the surface of single cells. The demonstrated ability underscores the potential of MTSERS to perform 3D spectroscopic microimaging and to furnish biologically interpretable, quantitative, and dynamic molecular maps in live cell populations.

Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; biosensors; cancer; nanotechnology; surface plasmon resonance.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Breast Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
Cell Line, Tumor
Female
Humans
Molecular Imaging*
Particle Size
Single-Cell Analysis*
Spectrum Analysis, Raman
Surface Properties