Lactate based optical screening of dengue virus infection in human sera using Raman spectroscopy

This study presents the screening of dengue virus (DENV) infection in human blood sera based on lactate concentration using Raman spectroscopy. A total of 70 samples, 50 from confirmed DENV infected patients and 20 from healthy volunteers have been used in this study. Raman spectra of all these samples have been acquired in the spectral range from 600 cm^-1 to 1800 cm^-1 using a 532 nm laser as an excitation source. Spectra of all these samples have been analyzed for assessing the biochemical changes resulting from infection. In DENV infected samples three prominent Raman peaks have been found at 750, 830 and 1450 cm^-1. These peaks are most probably attributed to an elevated level of lactate due to an impaired function of different body organs in dengue infected patients. This has been proven by an addition of lactic acid solution to the healthy serum in a controlled manner. By the addition of lactic acid solution, the intense Raman bands at 1003, 1156 and 1516 cm^-1 found in the spectrum of healthy serum got suppressed when the new peaks appeared around 750, 830, 925, 950, 1123, 1333, 1450, 1580 and 1730 cm^-1. The current study predicts that lactate may possibly be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of DENV infection.