Raman spectroscopy for rapid discrimination of Staphylococcus epidermidis clones related to medical device-associated infections

We report on the potential application of Raman spectroscopy for the fast typing of Staphylococcus epidermidis ( S. epidermidis ) strains related to medical device-associated infections. In this study bacterial colonies were directly probed on culture plates and Raman spectra were recorded from volumes containing approximately 10 bacteria. The spectra contain information on the molecular composition of the whole bacteria, such as fatty acids, carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids, DNA as well as RNA. We demonstrate the potential to discriminate different S. epidermidis clones, even after only short Raman exposure/collection times.