Potential of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of plasma/serum in the liquid state: recent advances.

There is compelling evidence in the literature to support the application of Raman spectroscopy for analysis of bodily fluids in their native liquid state. Naturally, the strategies described in the literature for Raman spectroscopic analysis of liquid samples have advantages and disadvantages. Herein, recent advances in the analysis of plasma/serum in the liquid state are reviewed. The potential advantages of Raman analysis in the liquid form over the commonly employed infrared absorption analysis in the dried droplet form are initially highlighted. Improvements in measurement protocols based on inverted microscopic geometries, clinically adaptable substrates, data preprocessing and analysis and applications for routine monitoring of patient health as well as therapeutic administration are reviewed. These advances suggest that clinical translation of Raman spectroscopy for rapid biochemical analysis can be a reality. In the future, this method will prove to be highly beneficial to clinicians for rapid screening and monitoring of analytes and drugs in the biological fluids, and to the patients themselves, enabling early treatment, before the disease becomes symptomatic, allowing early recovery.

Raman spectroscopy as a potential tool for label free therapeutic drug monitoring in human serum: the case of busulfan and methotrexate.

A methodology is proposed, based on Raman spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis, to determine the Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) for therapeutic drug monitoring in human serum, using the examples of Busulfan, a cell cycle non-specific alkylating antineoplastic agent, and, Methotrexate, a chemotherapeutic agent and immune system suppressant. In this study, ultrafiltration is employed to fractionate spiked human pooled serum to efficiently recover the drug in the filtrate prior to performing Raman analysis. The drug concentration ranges were chosen to encompass the recommended therapeutic ranges and toxic levels in patients. Raman spectra were collected from the filtrates in the liquid form, using an inverted backscattering microscopic geometry, using 532 nm as source. Finally, prediction models were built by using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) and LOD and LOQ were calculated directly from the linear prediction models. The LOD calculated for Busulfan is 0.0002 ± 0.0001 mg mL-1, 30-40 times lower than the level of toxicity, enabling the application of this method in target dose adjustment of Busulfan for patients undergoing, for example, bone marrow transplantation. The LOD and LOQ calculated for Methotrexate are 7.8 ± 5 µM and 26 ± 5 µM, respectively, potentially enabling high dose monitoring. The promising results obtained from this study suggest the potential of Raman spectroscopy for therapeutic drug monitoring of drugs in bodily fluids.

Raman spectroscopic screening of high and low molecular weight fractions of human serum.

This study explores the suitability of Raman spectroscopy as a bioanalytical tool, when coupled with ultra-filtration and multivariate analysis, to detect imbalances in both high molecular weight (total protein content, γ globulins and albumin) and low molecular weight (urea and glucose) fractions of the same samples of human patient serum, in the native liquid form. Ultracentrifugation was employed to separate and concentrate the high and low molecular weight fractions of the serum. Initially, aqueous solutions of the respective molecular species, covering physiologically relevant concentration ranges, were analysed to optimise the measurement protocols. An adapted Extended Multiplicative Signal Correction (EMSC) algorithm was applied to raw spectra to remove water background signal and spectral interferents (ß-carotene). Using a validated partial least squares regression modelling method, R2 values, Root Mean Square Error of Cross Validation (RMSECV) and standard deviations were established for the quantification of γ globulin, total protein, albumin, urea and glucose content of the patient serum samples. The study demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy in the liquid form is a viable alternative and/or adjunct to current clinical practice for the parallel analysis of high and low molecular weight fractions, and simultaneous analysis of multiple analytes in the low molecular weight fraction, of human serum for diagnostic applications.

Analysis of bodily fluids using vibrational spectroscopy: a direct comparison of Raman scattering and infrared absorption techniques for the case of glucose in blood serum.

Analysis of biomarkers present in the blood stream can potentially deliver crucial information on patient health and indicate the presence of numerous pathologies. The potential of vibrational spectroscopic analysis of human serum for diagnostic purposes has been widely investigated and, in recent times, infrared absorption spectroscopy, coupled with ultra-filtration and multivariate analysis techniques, has attracted increasing attention, both clinical and commercial. However, such methods commonly employ a drying step, which may hinder the clinical work flow and thus hamper their clinical deployment. As an alternative, this study explores the use of Raman spectroscopy, similarly coupled with ultra-filtration and multivariate analysis techniques, to quantitatively monitor diagnostically relevant changes of glucose in liquid serum samples, and compares the results with similar analysis protocols using infrared spectroscopy of dried samples. The analysis protocols to detect the imbalances in glucose using Raman spectroscopy are first demonstrated for aqueous solutions and spiked serum samples. As in the case of infrared absorption studies, centrifugal filtration is utilised to deplete abundant analytes and to reveal the spectral features of Low Molecular Weight Fraction analytes in order to improve spectral sensitivity and detection limits. Improved Root Mean Square Error of Cross Validation (RMSECV) was observed for Raman prediction models, whereas slightly higher R2 values were reported for infrared absorption prediction models. Summarising, it is demonstrated that the Raman analysis protocol can yield accuracies which are comparable with those reported using infrared absorption based measurements of dried serum, without the need for additional drying steps.

Raman spectroscopic analysis of high molecular weight proteins in solution - considerations for sample analysis and data pre-processing.

This study explores the potential of Raman spectroscopy, coupled with multivariate regression techniques and a protein separation technique (ion exchange chromatography), to quantitatively monitor diagnostically relevant changes in high molecular weight proteins in liquid plasma. Measurement protocols to detect the imbalances in plasma proteins as an indicator of various diseases using Raman spectroscopy are optimised, such that strategic clinical applications for early stage disease diagnostics can be evaluated. In a simulated plasma protein mixture, concentrations of two proteins of identified diagnostic potential (albumin and fibrinogen) were systematically varied within physiologically relevant ranges. Scattering from the poorly soluble fibrinogen fraction is identified as a significant impediment to the accuracy of measurement of mixed proteins in solution, although careful consideration of pre-processing methods allows construction of an accurate multivariate regression prediction model for detecting subtle changes in the protein concentration. Furthermore, ion exchange chromatography is utilised to separate fibrinogen from the rest of the proteins and mild sonication is used to improve the dispersion and therefore quality of the prediction. The proposed approach can be expeditiously employed for early detection of pathological disorders associated with high or low plasma/serum proteins.