Metabolic-Activity-Based Assessment of Antimicrobial Effects by D₂O-Labeled Single-Cell Raman Microspectroscopy

To combat the spread of antibiotic resistance, methods that quantitatively assess the metabolism-inhibiting effects of drugs in a rapid and culture-independent manner are urgently needed. Here using four oral bacteria as models, we show that heavy water (D2O)-based single-cell Raman microspectroscopy (D2O-Raman) can probe bacterial response to different drugs using the Raman shift at the C–D (carbon–deuterium vibration) band in 2040 to 2300 cm–1...