Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis
Vaginal infections, medically termed vaginitis, encompass a spectrum of symptomatic presentations arising from disturbances within the vaginal microflora. The conventional diagnostic approach relies on microscopic examination of wet preparation of vaginal discharge, considered the ‘gold standard’ in...
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214180424000849 |
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| author | Sylwia M. Berus Tomasz Szymborski Beata Młynarczyk-Bonikowska Grażyna Przedpełska Monika Adamczyk-Popławska Agnieszka Kamińska |
| author_facet | Sylwia M. Berus Tomasz Szymborski Beata Młynarczyk-Bonikowska Grażyna Przedpełska Monika Adamczyk-Popławska Agnieszka Kamińska |
| author_sort | Sylwia M. Berus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vaginal infections, medically termed vaginitis, encompass a spectrum of symptomatic presentations arising from disturbances within the vaginal microflora. The conventional diagnostic approach relies on microscopic examination of wet preparation of vaginal discharge, considered the ‘gold standard’ in clinical practice. Complementary to this, culture-based methodologies are often employed to reinforce diagnostic accuracy. However, challenges such as subjectivity in result interpretation, resource-intensive requirements regarding skilled personnel, and reagent utilization underscore the need for alternative diagnostic strategies.In this article, we demonstrate surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) techniques to elucidate the molecular signatures present in vaginal fluids, accounting for various influencing factors, including disruptions in the natural microflora, vaginal irrigation practices, and contraceptive usage. Furthermore, we investigated the spectral manifestations associated with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) relative to control samples. Each clinical specimen underwent meticulous characterization encompassing microbial composition, pH levels, purity, and other pertinent parameters.Our findings unveil significant associations between extraneous inflammatory factors such as vaginal irrigation and diminished sample purity with alterations in SERS signals. Conversely, the day of the menstrual cycle phase exhibits negligible influence on spectral profiles. Notably, VVC samples demonstrated diverse spectral responses correlating with the abundance of pathogenic bacteria. These explorations hold promise in paving the path towards developing a novel intrinsic framework for the diagnosis of vaginitis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76d4fc3fe8054d6eba4ed47dbdbc236f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2214-1804 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-76d4fc3fe8054d6eba4ed47dbdbc236f2025-08-20T02:20:48ZengElsevierSensing and Bio-Sensing Research2214-18042024-12-014610070210.1016/j.sbsr.2024.100702Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasisSylwia M. Berus0Tomasz Szymborski1Beata Młynarczyk-Bonikowska2Grażyna Przedpełska3Monika Adamczyk-Popławska4Agnieszka Kamińska5Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland; Corresponding authors.Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of Warsaw, Koszykowa 82a, 02-008 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Dermatology, Infant Jesus Clinical Hospital, Koszykowa 82a, 02-008 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Biology, Department of Molecular Virology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, PolandInstitute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland; Corresponding authors.Vaginal infections, medically termed vaginitis, encompass a spectrum of symptomatic presentations arising from disturbances within the vaginal microflora. The conventional diagnostic approach relies on microscopic examination of wet preparation of vaginal discharge, considered the ‘gold standard’ in clinical practice. Complementary to this, culture-based methodologies are often employed to reinforce diagnostic accuracy. However, challenges such as subjectivity in result interpretation, resource-intensive requirements regarding skilled personnel, and reagent utilization underscore the need for alternative diagnostic strategies.In this article, we demonstrate surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) techniques to elucidate the molecular signatures present in vaginal fluids, accounting for various influencing factors, including disruptions in the natural microflora, vaginal irrigation practices, and contraceptive usage. Furthermore, we investigated the spectral manifestations associated with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) relative to control samples. Each clinical specimen underwent meticulous characterization encompassing microbial composition, pH levels, purity, and other pertinent parameters.Our findings unveil significant associations between extraneous inflammatory factors such as vaginal irrigation and diminished sample purity with alterations in SERS signals. Conversely, the day of the menstrual cycle phase exhibits negligible influence on spectral profiles. Notably, VVC samples demonstrated diverse spectral responses correlating with the abundance of pathogenic bacteria. These explorations hold promise in paving the path towards developing a novel intrinsic framework for the diagnosis of vaginitis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214180424000849Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopySERSPartial Least Square regressionPLSRVaginal fluidVaginal infections |
| spellingShingle | Sylwia M. Berus Tomasz Szymborski Beata Młynarczyk-Bonikowska Grażyna Przedpełska Monika Adamczyk-Popławska Agnieszka Kamińska Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy SERS Partial Least Square regression PLSR Vaginal fluid Vaginal infections |
| title | Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis |
| title_full | Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis |
| title_fullStr | Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis |
| title_short | Identifying changes in vaginal fluid using SERS: Advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis |
| title_sort | identifying changes in vaginal fluid using sers advancing diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis |
| topic | Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy SERS Partial Least Square regression PLSR Vaginal fluid Vaginal infections |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214180424000849 |
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