The document proposes using a gold-histone protein conjugate to visualize chromosomes in live cells via Raman mapping. Gold nanoparticles are attached to histone proteins, which package DNA into nucleosomes. This conjugate provides a strong and stable Raman signal to obtain high contrast Raman images of live cells, overcoming the weakness of small molecule Raman signals. The conjugate is prepared by synthesizing uniform gold nanoparticles then attaching histone proteins to functionalize the nanoparticles for chromosome targeting and visualization.