Raman Spectroscopy for Intracellular Monitoring of Carotenoid in Blakeslea trispora

• DOI: 10.1007/s12010-008-8472-0
• Publication Date: 2009-01-05T18:06:07Z
• Authors: Emmanouil H. Papa...; Maria Liakopoulou...; Dimitrios Christo...; Ioannis Arvanitidis; Gerasimos Kourouklis
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 570; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Bioreactors; Species Specificity; Cell Culture Techniques; Mucorales; Spectrum Analysis, Raman; Carotenoids; Monitoring, Physiologic

In the present study, we explore the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy for intracellular monitoring of carotenoid in filamentous fungi Blakeslea trispora. Although carotenoid production from this fungus has been extensively studied through various chromatographic methods and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, no intracellular monitoring has been demonstrated until now. The intensity of the Raman spectrum, and more conveniently that of the strongest nu(1) carotenoid band at approximately 1,519 cm(-1), exhibits a good linear correlation with the carotenoid content of the sample as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. Our results suggest that Raman spectroscopy can serve as an alternative method for the study and quantification of carotenoid in batch-mated submerged cultivations of B. trispora and similar organisms. Although not as accurate as HPLC, it allows a rapid sampling and analysis, avoiding the prolonged and tedious classical isolation procedures required for carotenoid determination by HPLC and UV-Vis spectroscopy.