Figure 11.

(a) Average Raman spectra of virions extracted from a human swab sample in the spectral zone between 900 and 1200 cm^–1, in comparison with average (standard) spectra from BA.5 and XE subvariants (the red-shadowed spectral variation refers to the spectral response of virions extracted from the swab nasal sample); the respective Raman barcodes in the same spectral zone are given in the inset. Panels (b), (c), and (d) show deconvoluted Raman subbands from spectra belonging to human nasal swab, standard BA.5 and XE virions, respectively, as shown in panel (a) (cf. labels in the inset). Matching was found with spectra of both BA.5 and XE Omicron subvariants, with a slightly closer matching with the spectrum of the former subvariant. The wavenumbers in the inset to panel (b) are given in units of cm^–1 and the abbreviations are defined in the text. The light-green arrow and subband locate two minor signals that were detected in virions from the swab sample but not in standard Omicron samples; the possible origin of this signal is discussed in the text.