Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Lipids on Silver Microprobes

The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of model sebaceous gland secretions and their bacterially generated fatty acids are described. Long-chain fatty acids, their parent triglycerides, and long-chain hydrocarbons have characteristic SERS signatures that make them readily resolvable in heterogeneous mixtures. Silicon-substrate silver microprobes are shown to be useful for studying the spatial distribution of lipids and their corresponding fatty acids in nanoflow rate systems.