The primary study on the newborn screening of congenital hypothyroidism with the dry blood spot in the filter paper by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Objective To develop a method of detecting dry blood spot (DBS) samples collected in the filter paper by using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERSp,also known as Raman molecular fingerprint spectrum) technology.The possibility and reliability of applying the technology to the newborn screening of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) was investigated. Methods The casecontrol study was used.The results of CH-h TSH screening test based on the DBSsamples collected in the filter paper,and the clinical diagnosis were all provided by neonatal screening center of Shanghai Children′s Hospital.The results of SERSp analysis were provided by Dalian University of Technology.Six positive and six negative samples,which were confirmed respectively by CH-h TSH screening using time resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA) were chosen.With the spectrum lines of 725 cm-1as internal standard,the SERSp from the aqueous solution of these samples were analyzed. The specific spectrum line analysis,the principal component analysis (PCA) and the scatter diagram of PCA were used to compare the results of TSH test. Results With the spectrum lines of 725 cm-1as internal standard,the CH specific spectrum lines of 1373 cm-1and 1400 cm-1were discovered.They showed the most significant difference of the peak height between the positive and negative samples of CH,while TSH specific spectrum lines of 785 cm-1,827 cm-1and 853 cm-1failed to distinguish positive from negative samples with distinct peak height.The consistency between the results of CH-Raman Screening and CH-hTSH Screening was 91.7% (11/12),which was proven by PCA,the scatter diagram of PCA and the specific spectrum line analysis.The sensitivity of CHRaman Screening was 100% and the specificity was 83.3%. Conclusion There is a new CH-Raman Screening method using the SERSp analysis,which was proven to be a promising technology in the newborn screening of congenital hypothyroidism with the DBS in the filter paper.(Chin J Lab Med,2013,36:529-533) Key words: Congenital hypothyroidism; Neonatal screening; Spectrum analysis; Raman; Surface properties; Specimen handling; Sensitivity and specificity