SERS imaging analyses of bacteria cells among plant tissues

A chemical imaging method to mass surveil bacteria cells among plant tissues in situ is reported. Bacteria cells were pre-labeled with 3-mercaptophenylboronic acid for complexation with gold nanoparticles. Surface-enhanced Raman spectra were collated en masse to generate panoramic chemical images of bacteria populations. The approach was successfully employed to study the distribution of mass bacteria populations directly on and in selected plant tissues. This study demonstrates the great potential with which SERS imaging can be utilized for the study of bacterial cells among complex matrices, in some ways that are superior to electron and fluorescent microscopies.