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Chapter 12
Raman Spectra of Solid Amino Acids: Spectral
Correlation Analysis as the First Step Towards
Identification by Raman Spectroscopy
Tomasz Roliński, Sylwester Gawinkowski, Agnieszka Kamińska
and Jacek Waluk
J. Waluk () · T. Roliński · S. Gawinkowski · A. Kamińska
Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52,
01-224, Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: jwaluk@ichf.edu.pl
Abstract Raman spectra are presented for twenty proteinogenic amino acids,
recorded for solid samples using four different laser wavelengths: 325, 514.5,
632.8, and 785 nm. In general, the intensity patterns are very similar for all excitation wavelengths. the spectra are analysed in terms of similarity. Possibilities of
determination of amino acids in multicomponent powder mixtures are discussed
and illustrated by examples.
Keywords Amino Acids • Raman Spectra • Correlation Analysis
12.1 Introduction
the amino acids are building blocks of proteins, hence the exact characterization
of their properties is of fundamental importance in chemistry, biology, and medical
sciences. Among various techniques used for that purpose, Raman spectroscopy is
particularly attractive, due to its rich information content and sensitivity to such
effects, as, e.g., conformational changes. Rapid progress in using Raman for the
analysis of amino acids has been stimulated by the discovery of surface-enhanced
Raman scattering (SERS) [1, 2], a technique which dramatically increases the signal
intensity, and thus removes the main drawback of classical Raman methodology.
detailed understanding of the vibrational structure of amino acids is a prerequisite for the investigation of polypeptides and proteins. however, from the experimental point of view this is not an easy task. In spite of numerous papers devoted
to the subject, no database exists which would include the spectra of all important
amino acids, measured under the same, well-defined and reproducible conditions. A
recent step in this direction was provided by the work which compared the Raman
spectra of solid amino acids with those measured in aqueous solutions [3]. Since the
m. Baranska (ed.), Optical Spectroscopy and Computational Methods in Biology and
Medicine, Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry and Physics 14,
doI 10.1007/978-94-007-7832-0_12, © Springer Science+Business media dordrecht 2014
Chapter 12
Raman Spectra of Solid Amino Acids: Spectral
Correlation Analysis as the First Step Towards
Identification by Raman Spectroscopy
Tomasz Roliński, Sylwester Gawinkowski, Agnieszka Kamińska
and Jacek Waluk
J. Waluk () · T. Roliński · S. Gawinkowski · A. Kamińska
Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52,
01-224, Warsaw, Poland
e-mail: jwaluk@ichf.edu.pl
Abstract Raman spectra are presented for twenty proteinogenic amino acids,
recorded for solid samples using four different laser wavelengths: 325, 514.5,
632.8, and 785 nm. In general, the intensity patterns are very similar for all excitation wavelengths. the spectra are analysed in terms of similarity. Possibilities of
determination of amino acids in multicomponent powder mixtures are discussed
and illustrated by examples.
Keywords Amino Acids • Raman Spectra • Correlation Analysis
12.1 Introduction
the amino acids are building blocks of proteins, hence the exact characterization
of their properties is of fundamental importance in chemistry, biology, and medical
sciences. Among various techniques used for that purpose, Raman spectroscopy is
particularly attractive, due to its rich information content and sensitivity to such
effects, as, e.g., conformational changes. Rapid progress in using Raman for the
analysis of amino acids has been stimulated by the discovery of surface-enhanced
Raman scattering (SERS) [1, 2], a technique which dramatically increases the signal
intensity, and thus removes the main drawback of classical Raman methodology.
detailed understanding of the vibrational structure of amino acids is a prerequisite for the investigation of polypeptides and proteins. however, from the experimental point of view this is not an easy task. In spite of numerous papers devoted
to the subject, no database exists which would include the spectra of all important
amino acids, measured under the same, well-defined and reproducible conditions. A
recent step in this direction was provided by the work which compared the Raman
spectra of solid amino acids with those measured in aqueous solutions [3]. Since the
m. Baranska (ed.), Optical Spectroscopy and Computational Methods in Biology and
Medicine, Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry and Physics 14,
doI 10.1007/978-94-007-7832-0_12, © Springer Science+Business media dordrecht 2014