Measuring the molecular and chemical composition of biological samples has remained challenging yet advances in medical treatments rely largely on the ability to detect and identify molecular signatures of disease, as well as developing therapeutics to target specific illnesses within individuals. Biologic samples are, by their nature, fragile, making them susceptible to damage from long exposure to the spectroscopic investigation usually required to produce useable spectra. Additionally, many biologics auto fluoresce which often interferes with producing clear spectra.
At UV wavelengths, fluorescence and Raman signatures become spectrally separated. Deep UV Raman spectroscopy, therefore, offers the ability to detect, identify and quantify substances at much lower concentrations than is possible with near-UV, visible, or infrared (IR) methods. ODIN, ISI’s compact deep UV Raman spectrometer operates at 228.5 nm and uses our HES spectrometer cooled CCD detector. ODIN is proving to measure biological samples more effectively than has previously been seen and without degrading fragile samples (see Foster et al (2022)). This has led to a variety of researchers proposing that the technique could be used to detect disease in tissues.
ISI has been in ongoing conversation with Dr Jay Dudhia at the Royal Veterinary College regarding possible collaborations. He has applied Raman spectroscopy to joint tissues (see Gaifulina et al Clinical Spectroscopy 3 2021 100012). Following a recent briefing regarding our ODIN instrument, this has resulted in a pilot study with samples of equine articular joint synovial fluid.
Synovial fluid is a non-Newtonian fluid found in the cavities of joints. The fluid contains proteins from blood plasma and proteins produced by cells in joint tissue. It has been speculated that close examination of this fluid can lead to the early detection of diseases such as arthritis, an observation that could potentially be made using Raman spectroscopy.
