Raman spectroscopic measurement of relative concentrations in mixtures of oral bacteria

Appl Spectrosc. 2007 Nov;61(11):1233-7. doi: 10.1366/000370207782597021.

Abstract

Near-infrared Raman spectroscopy has been used for species identification of pure microbial specimens for more than a decade. More recently, this optical method has been extended to the analysis of specimens containing multiple species. In this report, we demonstrate rapid, reagent-free quantitative analysis of a simplified model of oral plaque containing three oral bacteria species, S. mutans, S. sanguis, and S. gordonii, using near-infrared Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra were acquired from bacterial mixtures in 200 seconds. A prediction model was calibrated by the partial least squares method and validated by additional samples. On a scale from 0 to 1, relative fractions of each species could be predicted with a root mean square error of 0.07. These results suggest that near-infrared Raman spectroscopy is potentially useful in quantification of microbial mixtures in general and oral plaques in particular.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Dental Plaque / chemistry
  • Dental Plaque / microbiology*
  • Mouth / microbiology*
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman / methods*
  • Streptococcus mutans / chemistry
  • Streptococcus mutans / isolation & purification
  • Streptococcus mutans / metabolism
  • Streptococcus sanguis / chemistry
  • Streptococcus sanguis / isolation & purification
  • Streptococcus sanguis / metabolism
  • Streptococcus* / chemistry
  • Streptococcus* / isolation & purification
  • Streptococcus* / metabolism