Retinal Schiff base position relative to the surfaces of photoreceptor disk

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering reveals adsorption of mitoxantrone on plasma membrane of living cells

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy was applied to analyze mitoxantrone (MTX) adsorption on the plasma membrane microenvironment of sensitive (HCT-116 S) or BCRP/MXR-type resistant (HCT-116 R) cells. The addition of silver colloid to MTX-treated cells revealed an enhanced Raman scattering of MTX. Addition of extracellular DNA induced a total extinction of MTX Raman intensity for both cell lines, which revealed an adsorption of MTX on plasma membrane. A threefold higher MTX Raman intensity was observed for HCT-116 R, suggesting a tight MTX adsorption in the plasma membrane microenvironment. Fluorescence confocal microscopy confirmed a relative MTX emission around plasma membrane for HCT-116 R. After 30 min at 4 degrees C, a threefold decrease of the MTX Raman scattering was observed for HCT-116 R, contrary to HCT-116 S. Permeation with benzyl alcohol revealed a threefold decrease of membrane MTX adsorption on HCT-116 R, exclusively. This additional MTX adsorption should correspond to the drug bound to an unstable site on the HCT-116 R membrane. This study showed that SERS spectroscopy could be a direct method to reveal drug adsorption to the membrane environment of living cells.

Detection of membrane-bound enzymes in cells using immunoassay and Raman microspectroscopy

The method of surface-enhanced Raman microspectroscopy was developed for direct detection of membrane-bound enzymes in cells. Cells were cultured, fixed, and incubated with specific primary antibodies and their corresponding labeled secondary antibodies, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was detected directly in the wells of a multiwell plate. First, specific primary antibodies were separately bound to enzymes in cells. Then, the peroxidase-labeled secondary antibodies were added to bind these primary antibodies. Peroxidase substrates, o-phenylenediamine and hydrogen peroxide, were added and reacted for 15 min at room temperature to form azoaniline, a compound with strong Raman scattering. Then, Raman scattering of this enzymatic product was enhanced by silver colloids. Samples were excited with a He/Ne laser at 632.8 nm and SERS was detected by a CCD camera. The SERS spectrum of this product showed an intense peak at 1370 cm-1 and its intensity was used for assessment of cellular enzymes. The observed amount of enzyme was normalized to protein content in each well. The method was successfully used to detect prostaglandin H synthase-1 and -2 (PGHS-1 and -2) in normal human hepatocytes and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. The detection limit of these PGHS enzymes by this method was about 0.1 pg per well. An immunohistochemical staining was also used to detect the expression of both PGHS isozymes in these cells.

Selective analysis of antitumor drug interaction with living cancer cells as probed by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

A new technique for the selective measurement of small amounts of antitumor drugs in the nucleus and cytoplasm of a living cancer cell, based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), is proposed. The ability to detect SERS signals from very dilute (up to 10(-10) M) solutions of doxorubicin or adriamycin (DOX), and 4'O-tetrahydropyranyl-adriamycin (THP-ADM), as well as from their complexes with targets in vitro and in vivo, has been demonstrated. SERS spectra were obtained from a population as well as from single living erythroleukaemic K562 cells treated with DOX. The results of the measurements on the population of cells containing DOX in nuclei or in the cytoplasm are well correlated with the microscopic SERS measurements on the single cells treated with DOX, obtained by selectively recording signals from the living cell nucleus or from the cytoplasm. Possibilities for the application of this new technique in different aspects of cancer research are discussed.