SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Raman Spectroscopy is the inelastic scattering of light at different wavelengths upon interaction with a molecule, resulting from the energy of specific molecular vibrations within the sample. Thus, it serves as a powerful bioanalytical technique, providing detailed chemical fingerprints of the sample. Benefits of Raman imaging include a label-free and non-destructive nature and high multiplexing capability. The potential of Raman Imaging as the optimal technology to observe drug delivery models is currently an emerging research area. siRNA drugs are highly specific and are usually synthesized to silence a particular gene, but its transfection results have not been investigated via Raman Spectroscopy in previous studies. The cellular delivery of siRNA has been a challenge since several major delivery requirements must be met including the survival during degradation in the extracellular milieu, transportation through the cell surface, cell membrane, and the RNA-induced silencing complex. Hence, Raman Spectroscopy can be applied by allowing direct imaging of the nanocarriers, and not the payload encapsulated within them; this is especially important when studying the uptake and degradation of nanocarriers, factors which are vital for inferring their likely success as intracellular drug delivery vehicles. The research gap lies on testing the efficiency of siRNA-based drugs on HeLa WT cells through Raman Spectroscopy and distinguishing different cell types through the spectra, especially the differentiation of HepG2 and HeLa WT cells, which is difficult to conduct with naked eye due to similar morphology.