SERS mapping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis single-cell with different drug resistance

The drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MbT) remains a serious challenge to global public health as extensively drug resistant tuberculosis usually leads to a lethal outcome. In the case of diseases with resistant strains, it is extremely important to identify a specific strain as soon as possible in order to start an adequate therapy. We continue investigation of deactivated M. tuberculosis strains of the Beijing family by Raman spectroscopy method. Strains under the study had different drug sensitivity: sensitive, multi and extensively drug resistant. Samples were investigated by Surface-Enhanced Raman spectroscopy using 785 nm diode pumped laser excitation source in fingerprint region. As a result, both glutathione bands and DNA methylation using 5-methylcytosine spectral biomarkers has been investigated. These differences distinguish between drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains and also between strains. We suppose that the obtained results can be useful for new fast diagnostic tools development for determining various MbT strains in clinical medical practice.