Study of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy

TL;DR

This study combines TEM and SERS techniques to analyze the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, identifying its structural features and characteristic spectra, with implications for developing rapid diagnostic tools.

Contribution

It is the first to use combined TEM and SERS to characterize the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein's structure and spectral signatures for diagnostic applications.

Findings

Identified characteristic Raman shifts of spike protein.

Observed periodic 2D-lattice structure via TEM.

Demonstrated potential for SERS-based SARS-CoV-2 detection.

Abstract

The spike protein (SP) of SARS-CoV-2 is the major molecular target for making diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapeutic development. We used a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and surface enhanced Raman microscopy (SERS) to study its structure. Using SERS on an aluminum substrate, we were able to detect a characteristic spectrum of SP mostly due to vibration of three aromatic amino acids producing Raman shifts at 466 cm-1, 524 cm-1, 773 cm-1, 831 cm-1, 1048 cm-1, 1308 cm-1, 1457 cm-1, and 1610 cm-1. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) of the SP showed periodic 2D-lattice orientation. The findings from this study have translational values for developing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based detectors for screening and testing SARS-CoV-2 signatures in diagnostic settings and contamination tracking.