Characterization of human skin cells for tissue engineering applications by Raman spectroscopy

In the field of cell culture and tissue engineering is an increasing need for non-invasive methods to analyze living cells in vitro. One important application is the cell characterization in tissue engineering products. Raman spectroscopy is a method which analyzes cells without lysis, fixation or the use of any chemicals and do not affect cell vitality adversely if suitable laser powers and wavelength are used. This purely optical technique is based on inelastic scattering of laser photons by molecular vibrations of biopolymers. Basically Raman spectra of cells contain typical fingerprint regions and information about cellular properties. Characteristic peaks in Raman spectra could be assigned to biochemical molecules like proteins, nucleic acid or lipids. The distinction of cell types by a multivariate analysis of Raman spectra is possible due to their biochemical differences. As this method allows a characterization of cells without any cell damage it is a promising technology for the quality control of cells in tissue engineering or cell culture applications.