Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhaced Raman spectroscopy as biomedical tools: Fundamentals and applications

Authors

  • Valter Sergo Engineering and Architecture Department, University of Trieste

Abstract

In recent years the use of Raman spectroscopy and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) for biomedical applications has been growing considerably. Intrinsically, the Raman effect is label-free and, as such, it does not introduce unwanted guests in the system under analysis. In a label-free Raman SERS approach, analytes (drugs, biomarkers, etc.) are put in contact with nanostructured metallic surfaces, (typically Au or Ag nanoparticles with suitable optical properties) generating a complex spectrum very rich in information. This fact, coupled with the rapidity of measurements and the ease of sample preparation, have paved the way for a wide spread use of these techniques in materials science, life sciences, and in medicine. In this talk an introduction to the Raman and SERS effect will be presented; then the schematic of the equipment will be outlined and then some practical case histories will be discussed: (a) Localization of hemozoin inside single red blood cells infected with malaria (Plasmodium falciparum), (b) Aging of zirconium oxide leading to catastrophic failure of ceramic hip joint prostheses, (c) Raman Mapping of the cartilage tissues and calcified cardiac valves, (d) Nanotechnologies and Raman SERS applied to quantification of low-concentration chemotherapics, and (e) Nanotechnologies, Raman SERS, and statistical analysis for screening of prostate and breast cancer.

About the Speaker

Valter Sergo, Engineering and Architecture Department, University of Trieste

Valter Sergo is a Full Professor of Materials Science and Chemistry at the University of Trieste (Italy). He has published over 100 scientific papers, mostly in materials science and Raman spectroscopy. He has been a research associate at the University of California at Santa Barbara, at the Kyoto Institute of Technology (Japan) and has been visiting professor at the Technical University of Dresden (Germany). In the last ten years his main research focus has been on the development of medical optical diagnostic tools based on Raman spectroscopy. Presently he is one of the five Working Group leaders of the official European COST action RAMAN4CLINICS, devoted to the introduction of Raman spectroscopy in clinical practice and the member officially representing Italy in the management committee of the same EU project.

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Issue

Article ID

SPP-2018-INV-2A-02

Section

Invited Presentations

Published

2018-03-08

How to Cite

[1]
V Sergo, Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhaced Raman spectroscopy as biomedical tools: Fundamentals and applications, Proceedings of the Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas 36, SPP-2018-INV-2A-02 (2018). URL: https://proceedings.spp-online.org/article/view/SPP-2018-INV-2A-02.