Implemented through a confocal microscope, Raman spectroscopy has been used to distinguish between biofilm samples of two common oral bacteria species, Streptococcus sanguinis and mutans, which are associated with healthy and cariogenic plaque, respectively. Biofilms of these species are studied as a model of dental plaque. A prediction model has been calibrated and validated using pure biofilms. This model has been used to identify the species of transferred and dehydrated samples (much like a plaque scraping) as well as hydrated biofilms in situ. Preliminary results of confocal Raman mapping of species in an intact two-species biofilm will be shown.

Date Published: 8 February 2011
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 7888, Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems III, 78880D (8 February 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.871819

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7888:
Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems III
Benjamin L. Miller; Philippe M. Fauchet, Editor(s)