Surfaced-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell using gol nanoparticles

The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy and normal Raman spectroscopy of single living human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells(CNE-1) were tested and analyzed by gold nanoparticles incubation into cells. The characteristic Raman bands in the SERS spectra of living cells were tentatively assigned. Six obvious Raman bands (718 A 1001 A 1123 A 1336 A 1446 A 1660 cm -1 A were observed in the normal Raman sp ectroscopy of living CNE-1 cells. Colloidal gold nanopar ticles that were introduced inside cells resulted in strongly enhan ced Raman signals of the native chemical constituents of the cells, and over twenty SERS Raman bands were obse rved in the SERS spectroscopy of living CNE-1 cells. Four vibrations of the DNA backbone (1026, 1097, 1336 and 1585 cm -1 A confirmed that some gold nanoparticles were able to enter the nucleus. The results showed that, based on colloidal gold, the SERS spectroscopy might provide a sensitive and structurally selective detecting me thod for native chemicals insi de a cell, such as DNA and phenylalanine. Keywords: Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, gold co lloids, human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line.