Molecular function in eukaryotic cells can be studied by quantifying proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids inside intracellular organelles. Traditionally, this quantification is performed through techniques that are given “-omic” terms such as proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, etc. using mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques.
Raman spectroscopy has traditionally been used to quantify the molecular structure of a wide range of chemical species with size ranges from near-field (<100 nm) to bulk measurements. Extensive work has gone into the application of Raman spectroscopy in many biochemical applications but successful solutions have often been difficult due to the complexity of the information obtained in the measurement and interferences arising from the laser-based methods used for Raman spectroscopy. Dr. Andrey Kuzmin of the University at Buffalo and Advanced Cytometry Instrumentation Systems, LLC, has successfully bridged this gap with the application of Raman spectroscopy to the quantification of intracellular components. His development, termed “Ramanomics” can be used to quantify proteins, DNA, RNA, and lipids in live cells.
