New insights into lipid and fatty acid metabolism from Raman spectroscopy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
3 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

One of the challenges facing biology is to understand metabolic events at a single cellular level. While approaches to examine dynamics of protein distribution or report on spatiotemporal location of signalling molecules are well-established, tools for the dissection of metabolism in single living cells are less common. Advances in Raman spectroscopy, such as stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), are beginning to offer new insights into metabolic events in a range of experimental systems, including model organisms and clinical samples, and across a range of disciplines. Despite the power of Raman imaging, it remains a relatively under-used technique to approach biological problems, in part because of the specialised nature of the analysis. To raise the profile of this method, here we consider some key studies which illustrate how Raman spectroscopy has revealed new insights into fatty acid and lipid metabolism across a range of cellular systems. The powerful and non-invasive nature of this approach offers a new suite of tools for biomolecular scientists to address how metabolic events within cells informs on or underpins biological function. We illustrate potential biological applications, discuss some recent advances, and offer a direction of travel for metabolic research in this area.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4789-4810
Number of pages22
JournalAnalyst
Volume149
Issue number19
Early online date5 Sept 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Oct 2024

Keywords

  • Raman spectroscopy
  • metabolic events
  • fatty acid metabolism
  • lipid metabolism

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'New insights into lipid and fatty acid metabolism from Raman spectroscopy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this