Ermakov Igor V, Ermakova Maia R, Gellermann Werner, Lademann Jürgen
University of Utah, Department of Physics and Dixon Laser Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
J Biomed Opt. 2004 Mar-Apr;9(2):332-8. doi: 10.1117/1.1646172.
The predominant long-chain carotenoids found in human skin are lycopene and beta-carotene. They are powerful antioxidants and thought to act as scavengers for free radicals and singlet oxygen formed by normal metabolism as well as excessive exposure of skin to sunlight. The specific importance of the particular representatives of the carotenoid antioxidants regarding skin defense mechanisms is of strong current interest. We demonstrate fast and noninvasive detection of beta-carotene and lycopene concentrations in living human skin using Raman detection of the molecules' carbon-carbon double bond stretch vibrations. Employing excitation with suitable blue and green laser lines, and taking advantage of differing Raman cross sectional profiles for beta-carotene and lycopene, we determine the relative concentration of each carotenoid species. This novel technique permits the quantitative assessment of individual long-chain carotenoid species rather than their composite level in human skin. The obtained results reveal significant differences in the carotenoid composition of the subjects' skin and show that the ratio between beta-carotene and lycopene concentration can vary from 0.5 to 1.6. The technique holds promise as a method for rapid screening of carotenoid compositions in human skin in large populations and should be suitable for clinical studies correlating carotenoid status with risk for cutaneous diseases.
在人体皮肤中发现的主要长链类胡萝卜素是番茄红素和β-胡萝卜素。它们是强大的抗氧化剂，被认为可作为自由基和单线态氧的清除剂，这些自由基和单线态氧是由正常新陈代谢以及皮肤过度暴露于阳光下形成的。类胡萝卜素抗氧化剂的特定代表在皮肤防御机制方面的具体重要性是当前备受关注的。我们利用拉曼检测分子的碳 - 碳双键伸缩振动，展示了对活体人类皮肤中β-胡萝卜素和番茄红素浓度的快速、非侵入性检测。通过用合适的蓝光和绿光激光线激发，并利用β-胡萝卜素和番茄红素不同的拉曼截面轮廓，我们确定了每种类胡萝卜素的相对浓度。这种新技术允许对人体皮肤中单个长链类胡萝卜素进行定量评估，而不是它们的复合水平。所获得的结果揭示了受试者皮肤类胡萝卜素组成的显著差异，并表明β-胡萝卜素和番茄红素浓度之间的比率可以在0.5到1.6之间变化。该技术有望成为一种在大量人群中快速筛查人体皮肤类胡萝卜素组成的方法，并且应该适用于将类胡萝卜素状态与皮肤病风险相关联的临床研究。
