Raman microspectroscopic approach to the study of human granulocytes

A sensitive confocal Raman microspectrometer was employed to record spectra of nuclei and cytoplasmic regions of single living human granulocytes. Conditions were used that ensured cell viability and reproducibility of the spectra. Identical spectra were obtained from the nuclei of neutrophilic, eosinophilic, and basophilic granulocytes, which yield information about DNA and protein secondary structure and DNA-protein ratio. The cytoplasmic Raman spectra of the three cell types are very different. This was found to be mainly due to the abundant presence of peroxidases in the cytoplasmic granules of neutrophilic granulocytes (myeloperoxidase) and eosinophilic granulocytes (eosinophil peroxidase). Strong signal contributions of the active site heme group(s) of these enzymes were found. This paper illustrates the potentials and limitations for Raman spectroscopic analysis of cellular constituents and processes.