Multiplexing the Raman Way

Abstract

On a long journey by sea from London to Bombay, the physicist C.V. Raman spent his time gazing at the ocean blue. Unsatisfied by a common explanation that the blue color was a reflection of the sky, he went on to show that the scattering of sunlight by water molecules gave the sea its color. His discovery of this phenomenon, named the “Raman effect,” supported the theory of the dual nature of matter and won him the Nobel Prize in 1930—the first such prize awarded to an Asian in the sciences. Today his science underlies a powerful diagnostic modality known as “surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy” (SERS),3 which could make multiplexed assays easier and more affordable. Clinical Chemistry spoke with 2 scientists who have been playing a leading role in establishing this technology: Dr. William C. Wilson, research microbiologist at the Agricultural Research Service Center for Grain and Animal Health Research in Manhattan, Kansas, and Dr. Patrick A. Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Dan Milner, Assistant Medical Director of Microbiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, gave views on the clinical utility of this technology. Although most diagnostic platforms are designed to perform tests one at a time, this technology is well suited for multiplexing. Raman spectroscopy shows …