Polarized Raman spectroscopic investigations on hemoglobin ordering in red blood cells

We have investigated the dependence of the Raman spectrum of an optically trapped red blood cell (RBC) on the orientation of the cell, relative to the polarization direction of the Raman excitation beam. The Raman scattered light polarized parallel to the polarization direction of the excitation beam was observed to depend upon the orientation of the cell. In particular, the heme bands at ∼754 cm⁻¹ and in the 1500 to 1700 cm⁻¹ region were observed to become maximum when the cells' equatorial plane was parallel to the excitation beam polarization direction and minimum when the cells' plane was normal to the polarization direction. In contrast, no significant orientational dependence was seen in the Raman scattered light polarized orthogonal to the polarization direction of the excitation beam. Theoretical simulations carried out to investigate these observations suggest that inside the RBCs, the hemoglobin molecules must be present in an ordered arrangement, such that heme-porphyrin planes become preferentially orientated parallel to the RBCs' equatorial plane.