Temporal observation of osteoblastic mineralization by Raman imaging

Mineralization is main function of osteoblasts. In the mineralization process, osteoblasts initiate production of hydroxyapatite (HA: Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), which is major component of bone. Then, through several biological processes they calcify surrounding extracellular matrix and finally bone tissue is formed. Previous researches have shown that various biomolecules are involved in the process of osteoblastic mineralization. Although traditional bio logical assays greatly contribute to understanding bone formation, they are unable to follow up the osteoblastic mineralization process since they are destructive techniques. Therefore a nondestructive and quantitative measurement technique is required to further increase our understanding of the osteoblastic mineralization process. Raman imaging is a non-destructive and label-free technique that provides contrast images based on vibrational frequencies that are derived to target molecules. Thus, Raman imaging enables time-lapse observation of the dynamics of the biomolecules in a living specimen without any preliminary preparations. In this study, we observed the osteoblastic mineralization process in the culture of mouse osteoblasts by consecutive Raman imaging