Ultra-Violet Resonance Raman Spectra of Live Cyanobacteria with 222.5–251.0 nm Pulsed Laser Excitation

The authors report the spectra of the clone CYAN excited at 222.5, 230.6, 242.4, and 251.0 nm. It is their purpose to compare the spectra of this oxygenic photosynthetic blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) with those of bacteria and to determine the nature of the substances giving rise to UV resonance Raman spectra in this organism and the extent to which they can be selectively excited. Such results are important because they allow us both to probe the potential use of resonance Raman spectroscopy in studies of algal chemotaxonomic relationships and to determine the ease with which bacterial and algal spectra can be distinguished from one another. It is shown that the use of microprobes capable of studying one organism at a time would eliminate interference problems and produce spectra originating from a single cell. Either way, it should be relatively simple to distinguish among various microorganisms.