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The impact of extreme low temperatures analogous to Europa’s surface and sub-surface on Raman Spectra of Amino Acids

The impact of extreme low temperatures analogous to Europa’s surface and sub-surface on Raman Spectra of Amino Acids
The impact of extreme low temperatures analogous to Europa’s surface and sub-surface on Raman Spectra of Amino Acids
Raman spectroscopy, an emerging technology for in situ space exploration, has been suggested for life detection for the Europa Lander Mission. However, obtaining spectra of samples from the europan icy shell requires measurements at temperatures down to −233°C, which will affect the Raman spectra of any potential biosignatures. In this study, we obtained Raman spectra of amino acids using a 785 nm Raman system at temperatures ranging down to −196°C, analogous to Europa's surface and near subsurface. Significant Raman band width narrowing and decreasing variance were observed at lower temperatures leading to higher-precision Raman measurements, which required higher spectral resolution that could be as high as 2 cm−1 for full identification of amino acids. Such spectral resolution is much higher than the resolution of contemporary Raman instruments for planetary exploration and may be particularly problematic for miniaturized instruments. Shifting of Raman bands to both higher and lower frequencies by as much as ∼25 cm−1 together with changes in the Raman band intensity were recorded. The emergence of new bands and diminishing of the original bands also occurred for some amino acids. A significantly increased fluorescence background was observed in spectra of fluorescent molecules (i.e., tryptophan). A link between the type of vibrational modes associated with Raman bands and the change in their Raman shift at extreme low temperatures was identified and described. This link offers an exciting new method of molecule identification solely based on the comparison of spectra collected at two different temperatures and could greatly improve the identification capabilities in Raman spectroscopy for a wide array of applications.
Vitkova, Ariana Barbora
574463b5-8c69-4d15-a22a-a8b7076ad80c
Walker, Scott
f28a342f-9755-48fd-94ea-09e44ac4dbf5
Sykulska-Lawrence, Hanna
844512fc-78fb-420c-8d16-fefa2ce35d26
Vitkova, Ariana Barbora
574463b5-8c69-4d15-a22a-a8b7076ad80c
Walker, Scott
f28a342f-9755-48fd-94ea-09e44ac4dbf5
Sykulska-Lawrence, Hanna
844512fc-78fb-420c-8d16-fefa2ce35d26

Vitkova, Ariana Barbora, Walker, Scott and Sykulska-Lawrence, Hanna (2021) The impact of extreme low temperatures analogous to Europa’s surface and sub-surface on Raman Spectra of Amino Acids. P22A - In Situ Science and Instrumentation for the Exploration of Europa and Ocean Worlds I Oral, https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Session/135233, New Orleans, United States. 14 Dec 2021. (In Press) (doi:10.1089/ast.2021.0136).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy, an emerging technology for in situ space exploration, has been suggested for life detection for the Europa Lander Mission. However, obtaining spectra of samples from the europan icy shell requires measurements at temperatures down to −233°C, which will affect the Raman spectra of any potential biosignatures. In this study, we obtained Raman spectra of amino acids using a 785 nm Raman system at temperatures ranging down to −196°C, analogous to Europa's surface and near subsurface. Significant Raman band width narrowing and decreasing variance were observed at lower temperatures leading to higher-precision Raman measurements, which required higher spectral resolution that could be as high as 2 cm−1 for full identification of amino acids. Such spectral resolution is much higher than the resolution of contemporary Raman instruments for planetary exploration and may be particularly problematic for miniaturized instruments. Shifting of Raman bands to both higher and lower frequencies by as much as ∼25 cm−1 together with changes in the Raman band intensity were recorded. The emergence of new bands and diminishing of the original bands also occurred for some amino acids. A significantly increased fluorescence background was observed in spectra of fluorescent molecules (i.e., tryptophan). A link between the type of vibrational modes associated with Raman bands and the change in their Raman shift at extreme low temperatures was identified and described. This link offers an exciting new method of molecule identification solely based on the comparison of spectra collected at two different temperatures and could greatly improve the identification capabilities in Raman spectroscopy for a wide array of applications.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 14 December 2021
Venue - Dates: P22A - In Situ Science and Instrumentation for the Exploration of Europa and Ocean Worlds I Oral, https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Session/135233, New Orleans, United States, 2021-12-14 - 2021-12-14

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 470342
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470342
PURE UUID: e5cd7bd2-e7dd-462e-8989-ef3ab2862ea1
ORCID for Ariana Barbora Vitkova: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-7811

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Date deposited: 06 Oct 2022 16:57
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 22:34

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Contributors

Author: Ariana Barbora Vitkova ORCID iD
Author: Scott Walker

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