title: Surface enhanced Raman scattering on Tardigrada--towards monitoring and imaging molecular structures in live cryptobiotic organisms.
abstract: Tardigrades are microscopic metazoans which are able to survive extreme physical and chemical conditions by entering a stress tolerant state called cryptobiosis. At present, the molecular mechanisms behind cryptobiosis are still poorly understood. We show that surface enhanced Raman scattering supported by plasmonic gold nanoparticles can measure molecular constituents and their local distribution in live tardigrades. Surface enhanced Raman signatures allow to differentiate between two species and indicate molecular structural differences between tardigrades in water and in a dry state. This opens new avenues for exploring cryptobiosis by studying molecular changes in live cryptobiotic organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Fysikvej 309, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kneipp
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Møbjerg
authors.forename: Aslak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.forename: Henrik G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Bohr
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hélix-Nielsen
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kneipp
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kneipp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013499:Surface Properties; D058467:Tardigrada / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*