Nanoscale Chemical Imaging of Human Cell Membranes Using Tip‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Lack of appropriate tools for visualizing cell membrane molecules at the nanoscale in a non‐invasive and label‐free fashion limits our understanding of many vital cellular processes. Here, we use tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) to visualize the molecular distribution in pancreatic cancer cell...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2022-10, Vol.61 (43), p.e202210288-n/a
Main Authors: Mrđenović, Dušan, Ge, Wenjie, Kumar, Naresh, Zenobi, Renato
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomolecules
Cancer Cells
Cell Membrane
Cell membranes
Cholesterol
Domains
Histidine
Humans
Imaging
Labeling
Lecithin
Membranes
Microscopy, Atomic Force - methods
Nanoscale Chemical Imaging
Nanospectroscopy
Pancreatic cancer
Phenylalanine
Phosphatidylcholine
Phosphatidylcholines
Proteins
Raman spectroscopy
Spatial discrimination
Spatial resolution
Spectroscopy
Spectrum Analysis, Raman - methods
Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
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Summary:Lack of appropriate tools for visualizing cell membrane molecules at the nanoscale in a non‐invasive and label‐free fashion limits our understanding of many vital cellular processes. Here, we use tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) to visualize the molecular distribution in pancreatic cancer cell (BxPC‐3) membranes in ambient conditions without labelling, with a spatial resolution down to ca. 2.5 nm. TERS imaging reveals segregation of phenylalanine‐, histidine‐, phosphatidylcholine‐, protein‐, and cholesterol‐rich BxPC‐3 cell membrane domains at the nm length‐scale. TERS imaging also showed a cell membrane region where cholesterol is mixed with protein. Interestingly, the higher resolution TERS imaging revealed that the molecular domains observed on the BxPC‐3 cell membrane are not chemically “pure” but also contain other biomolecules. These results demonstrate the potential of TERS for non‐destructive and label‐free imaging of cell membranes with nanoscale resolution. Tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) was able to resolve the distribution of molecules in human pancreatic cancer cell membranes. TERS imaging revealed the arrangement of different cell membrane components with a spatial resolution down to 2.5 nm.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.202210288