ABSTRACT
Objective To develop a method of detecting dry blood spot (DBS) samples collected in the filter paper by using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERSp,also known as Raman molecular fingerprint spectrum) technology.The possibility and reliability of applying the technology to the newborn screening of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) was investigated.Methods The case-control study was used.The results of CH-hTSH screening test based on the DBS samples collected in the filter paper,and the clinical diagnosis were all provided by neonatal screening center of Shanghai Children's Hospital.The results of SERSp analysis were provided by Dalian University of Technology.Six positive and six negative samples,which were confirmed respectively by CH-hTSH screening using time resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA) were chosen.With the spectrum lines of 725 cm-1 as internal standard,the SERSp from the aqueous solution of these samples were analyzed.The specific spectrum line analysis,the principal component analysis (PCA) and the scatter diagram of PCA were used to compare the results of TSH test.Results With the spectrum lines of 725 cm-1 as internal standard,the CH specific spectrum lines of 1373 cm-1 and 1400 cm-1 were discovered.They showed the most significant difference of the peak height between the positive and negative samples of CH,while TSH specific spectrum lines of 785 cm-1,827 cm-1 and 853 cm-1 failed to distinguish positive from negative samples with distinct peak height.The consistency between the results of CH-Raman Screening and CH-hTSH Screening was 91.7％ (11/12),which was proven by PCA,the scatter diagram of PCA and the specific spectrum line analysis.The sensitivity of CH-Raman Screening was 100％ and the specificity was 83.3％.Conclusion There is a new CH-Raman Screening method using the SERSp analysis,which was proven to be a promising technology in the newborn screening of congenital hypothyroidism with the DBS in the filter paper.