High-Throughput Screening Raman Spectroscopy Platform for Label-Free Cellomics.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Spectroscopy
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Label-free cellular analysis is crucial for biomedical research and clinical diagnostics.
• Raman spectroscopy offers rich molecular information but has been limited by throughput.
• Automated microscopy combined with spectroscopy can overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a high-throughput screening Raman spectroscopy (HTS-RS) platform for label-free macromolecular fingerprinting of eukaryotic cells.
• To demonstrate the platform's utility in differential white blood cell counting and circulating tumor cell identification.

Main Methods:

• The HTS-RS platform integrates automated imaging microscopy with Raman spectroscopy.
• A classification model was trained on Raman spectra from over 100,000 white blood cells (lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes).
• The platform was tested for identifying circulating tumor cells (Panc1) in mixtures with leukocytes.

Main Results:

• HTS-RS achieved comparable results to machine counting for differential white blood cell counts.
• The platform successfully identified circulating tumor cells in mixtures with leukocytes at various ratios.
• The developed HTS-RS platform demonstrated high throughput and label-free capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The HTS-RS platform provides a rapid and label-free method for cellular analysis.
• This technology has significant potential for applications in biomedical research and clinical diagnostics.
• The HTS-RS platform is transferable to existing Raman devices, promising widespread adoption.