CD BioSciences is committed to providing clients with non-destructive and label-free characterization for islets of Langerhans through Raman spectroscopy, including the detection of insulin and glucagon and the identification of different cell types in pancreatic cell lines. Our specialist scientific services will accelerate your research progress in diabetes.

Background

The mammalian islet is composed of four different types of endocrine cells: alpha cells, glucagon-producing α cells, insulin-producing β cells, somatostatin-producing δ cells, and pancreatic polypeptide-producing (PP) cells. These four types of cells are reliable cellular models for diabetes research. However, the isolation and purification of these cells under live conditions is still an obstacle for researchers. In addition, intrahepatic transplantation of Langerhans donor islets, an ideal method for treating patients with type 1 diabetes, is challenged by the need for accurate and real-time monitoring of islet quality prior to transplantation.

To address these challenges, our researchers have focused on developing Raman spectroscopy techniques that can characterize living cells and tissues under physiological conditions and apply them to a wide range of biomedical research applications. The technique does not require special preparation of cell samples or exogenous labels prior to spectral collection. And the low-power laser used does not harm living cells. Overall, our established Raman spectroscopy technique offers the possibility of in vivo real-time monitoring of pancreatic islets and islet cells.

Fig.1 The Raman spectra of pancreatic α, β, δ, and PP cells. (Rong, 2019)

Our Services

Our researchers have established confocal Raman microspectroscopy to provide our clients with information on the composition and structural organization of pancreatic endocrine tissue in a non-destructive and label-free manner. Furthermore, we provide detailed and professional Raman data analysis. Our services include but are not limited to:

• Detection of insulin and glucagon.
• Raman fingerprinting of a wide range of purified hormones including insulin, glucagon, amylin, somatostatin and pancreatic polypeptide.
• Raman spectroscopic evaluation of insulinoma cell lines such as MIN6, INS-1E and alpha-TC6 cells.
• Label-free Raman imaging of insulinoma cell lines.
• Label-free classification of pancreatic α, β, δ, and PP cells.
• Identification of normal pancreatic β cells and insulinoma cells by combination with principal component analysis–linear discriminate analysis (PCA-LDA) method.
• High-resolution Raman imaging of pancreatic islets.

Applications

• Quantification of the viability of pancreatic islet grafts.
• Real-time study on the viability and function of islet preparations.
• Selection of optimal tissue for transplantation.

With an advanced biophysical analysis platform and specialist data analysis capabilities, CD BioSciences provides clients with the detection of insulin and glucagon in pancreatic islets and other related services. Our professional research team will provide the best experimental scheme according to your research direction. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Rong, X.; et al. Discrimination of single living rat pancreatic α, β, δ, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) cells using Raman spectroscopy. Applied Spectroscopy. 2018, 72(5): 706-714.

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