This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We are investigating the chemical composition of ceroid deposits in atherosclerotic plaques using Raman spectroscopy. Accumulation of the insoluble lipid-protein complex, ceroid, is a characteristic of atherosclerotic plaques. The mechanism of ceroid formation has been extensively studied as the complex is postulated to cause cell injury and necrosis ultimately resulting in plaque irreversibility. Despite intensive research, ceroid is only defined empirically through its fluorescence properties and its behavior during various staining processes, while its precise chemical composition remains unknown. By using our combined Raman and fluorescence microscopy system we have examine the chemical composition of ceroid deposits in situ in aorta and coronary artery atherosclerosis. The synergy of these two types of spectroscopy allows for the identification of ceroid via its fluorescence signature and the subsequent elucidation of its chemical composition through the acquisition of a Raman spectrum. Recent work has focused on quantitative analysis of ceroid deposit composition.
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