Table 1.

Summary of current advantages and disadvantages of Raman spectroscopy in microbiology.

Raman spectroscopy and microbial analyses
Advantages	Disadvantages
rapid sensitive non-destructive non-invasive	no commercial database for microbial identification
microbes remain viable after the analysis and can be used for further testing	need for standardization (data presented in manuscripts are group-specific and custom-tailored)
highly reproducible within a device simple sample preparation
no costly consumables necessary	relatively expensive device
allowing detection of virulence factors	need for trained personnel and possible automatization
allowing single-cell level analyses: applicable for non-culturable microbes, no need for cultivation	cultivation is necessary or can be replaced by separation methods