Fast and reliable identification of microorganisms by means of Raman spectroscopy

The identification of bacteria is necessary as fast as possible e.g. to-provide an appropriate therapy for patients. Here the cultivation time should be kept to a minimum. Beside microbiological identification methods Raman spectroscopy is a valuable tool for bacteria identification. UV-resonance Raman spectroscopy enables selective monitoring of the cellular DNA/RNA content and allows for a genotaxonomic classification of the bacteria. Since UV excitation may lead to sample destruction the measurements are performed on rotated bacterial films. For a faster identification avoiding the cultivation step single bacteria analysis is necessary. Using micro-Raman spectroscopy a spatial resolution in the size range of the bacteria can be achieved. With this Raman excitation the chemical components of the whole cell are measured which leads to a phenotypic classification. For localization of bacteria inside complex matrices fluorescence labeling is achieved.