Identification of spermatogenesis in individual seminiferous tubules and testicular tissue of adult normal and busulfan-treated mice employing Raman spectroscopy and principal component analysis.

[Display omitted] • PCA and Raman spectroscopy were used to identify spermatogenesis in mouse testicular seminiferous tubules and tissue. • Raman measurements for single tubules and testes samples of adult and immature mice compared with busulfan-treated adults. • A higher signal of variability is obtained which questions the individual Raman spectra as a measurement for spermatogenesis. • PCA of these spectra shows a significant cluster separation between the ST of mature and immature mice. • The combination of PCA and Raman spectroscopy could be a noninvasive and potentially useful tool for spermatogenesis identification. The present study aims to identify spermatogenesis in testicular seminiferous tubules (ST) and testicular tissue of adult normal and busulfan-treated mice utilizing PCA and Raman spectroscopy. Raman measurements were conducted on single tubules and testes samples from adult and immature mice, comparing them with those from busulfan-treated adult mice, with validation through histological examination. The analysis revealed a higher signal variability (30 %–40 % at the peaks), prompting scrutiny of individual Raman spectra as a means of spermatogenesis measurement. However, principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated significant cluster separation between the ST of mature and immature mice. Similar investigations were performed to compare ST from normal mature mice and those from busulfan-treated (BS-treated) mature mice, revealing substantial separation along PC1 and PC2 for all comparison sets. Additionally, comparing testicular samples from mature and immature mice revealed distinct separation in PCA. The study concludes that the combined approach of PCA and Raman spectroscopy proves to be a noninvasive and potentially valuable method for identifying spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules and testicular samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]