Multivariate analysis applied to Raman mapping to support the rational design of functional nanostructures
Valentina MUSSI
National Research Council, Institute for Complex Systems ISC-CNR, Rome
& Tech4Bio group
It is nowadays clear that present developments in the field of nanostructured materials and nanotechnology will have a profound impact in several areas, from energy technologies to biotechnological and medical applications. The current efforts and findings will probably lead to a drastic change of methodologies, analytical instruments and diagnostic tools, and will modify the way we approach the problems of environmental and clinical monitoring, energy storage and tissue engineering, biomarking and drug delivery. The dimensional reduction to the nanoscale is in fact associated to a substantial modification of the material’s optical, electronic and structural properties, so that the creation of novel functional materials with unique features becomes possible. At the same time, nanomaterials offer the opportunity to probe and influence processes and samples at the cellular and molecular level, enabling the possibility for early diagnosis, improved prognosis, targeted therapeutic action and imaging with higher specificity and resolution. However, especially when dealing with applications in the biomedical field, the use of nanostructured materials forces us to face problems related to the development of reliable tools for a detailed characterization of their properties and for an accurate proof of their actual effectiveness. We need to know what we use, follow and demonstrate the operation, monitor the interaction with the environment and with biological samples and other materials, so to have appropriate instruments to optimize the design and synthesis of new nanoscale structures.
In this context, we demonstrate that Principal Component Analysis (PCA) applied to Raman mapping constitutes a very robust method, allowing a rapid and reliable classification of Carbon nanotubes-based samples at different degree of oxidation and functionalization with dye labelling molecules, which is fundamental to improve the design of the nanostructure and to optimize the preparation procedure for the specific application [1].
[1] Sonja Visentin, Nadia Barbero, Francesca Romana Bertani, Mariangela Cestelli Guidi, Giuseppe Ermondi, Guido Viscardi and Valentina Mussi, Analyst, (2015), DOI: 10.1039/c5an00820d.
