Vera Dugandžić, PhD student at Leibniz-IPHT, was awarded with the poster prize during the Confocal Raman Imaging Symposium in Ulm. The chemist presented how macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques can be targeted by modified gold nanoparticles and subsequently detected using surface enhanced Raman-spectroscopy. The presence of these immune cells in atherosclerotic plaques is considered an indication of plaque instability, which is associated with high risk of plaque rupture, leading to severe complications or even death.

During atherosclerosis progression, the inner walls of arteries are thickening and stiffening due to accumulation of lipids. However, not all arterial plaques are necessarily dangerous. The differentiation of stable atherosclerotic plaques from dangerous, prone to rupture, plaques remains a challenge and is an important focus of the medical research.

Vera Dugandžić explores a surface enhanced Raman-spectroscopic approach to identify instable plaques, which are characterized by inflammatory processes involving the recruitment of macrophages. The chemist Dugandžić “feeds” these immune cells with tagged gold nanoparticles covered with a layer of mannose molecules. Using surface enhanced Raman-spectroscopy, she can detect the targeted cells and localize dangerous plaques.

The 14th Confocal Raman Imaging Symposium took place from September 25th to 27th in Ulm. The annual conference is organized by WITec, one of the leading companies for nano-analytical microscopy systems.

 

The winners of the poster award Thomas Rabl (left) and Vera Dugandžic with WITec-CEO Joachim Koenen (right). Source: WITec

The winners of the poster award Thomas Rabl (left) and Vera Dugandžic with WITec-CEO Joachim Koenen (right). Source: WITec