Attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy to diagnose skin cancer and to distinguish different metastatic potential of melanoma cell

Advancements in medical research: Exploring Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for tissue, cell, and hair sample analysis

BACKGROUND

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful analytical tool in medical research, offering non-invasive and precise examination of the molecular composition of biological samples. The primary objective of this review is to underscore the benefits of FTIR spectroscopy in medicinal research, emphasizing its ability to delineate molecular fingerprints and assist in the identification of biochemical structures and key peaks in biological samples.

METHODS

This review comprehensively explores the diverse applications of FTIR spectroscopy in medical investigations, with a specific focus on its utility in analyzing tissue, cells, and hair samples. Various sources, including Google Scholar, PubMed, WorledCat and Scopus, were utilized to conduct this comprehensive literature review.

RESULTS

Recent advancements showcase the versatility of FTIR spectroscopy in elucidating cellular and molecular processes, facilitating disease diagnostics, and enabling treatment monitoring. Notably, FTIR spectroscopy has found significant utility in clinical assessment, particularly in screening counterfeit medicines, owing to its user-friendly operation and minimal sample preparation requirements. Furthermore, customs officials can leverage this technique for preliminary analysis of suspicious samples.

CONCLUSION

This review aims to bridge a gap in the literature and serve as a valuable resource for future research endeavors in FTIR spectroscopy within the medical domain. Additionally, it presents fundamental concepts of FTIR spectroscopy and spectral data interpretation, highlighting its utility as a tool for molecular analysis using Mid-Infrared (MIR) radiation.

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy to Analyse Human Blood over the Last 20 Years: A Review towards Lab-on-a-Chip Devices

Since microorganisms are evolving rapidly, there is a growing need for a new, fast, and precise technique to analyse blood samples and distinguish healthy from pathological samples. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can provide information related to the biochemical composition and how it changes when a pathological state arises. FTIR spectroscopy has undergone rapid development over the last decades with a promise of easier, faster, and more impartial diagnoses within the biomedical field. However, thus far only a limited number of studies have addressed the use of FTIR spectroscopy in this field. This paper describes the main concepts related to FTIR and presents the latest research focusing on FTIR spectroscopy technology and its integration in lab-on-a-chip devices and their applications in the biological field. This review presents the potential use of FTIR to distinguish between healthy and pathological samples, with examples of early cancer detection, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) detection, and routine blood analysis, among others. Finally, the study also reflects on the features of FTIR technology that can be applied in a lab-on-a-chip format and further developed for small healthcare devices that can be used for point-of-care monitoring purposes. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other published study has reviewed these topics. Therefore, this analysis and its results will fill this research gap.

Label-Free Infrared Spectral Histology of Skin Tissue Part II: Impact of a Lumican-Derived Peptide on Melanoma Growth

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of cutaneous malignancies. In addition to its role as a regulator of extracellular matrix (ECM) integrity, lumican, a small leucine-rich proteoglycan, also exhibits anti-tumor properties in melanoma. This work focuses on the use of infrared spectral imaging (IRSI) and histopathology (IRSH) to study the effect of lumican-derived peptide (L9Mc) on B16F1 melanoma primary tumor growth. Female C57BL/6 mice were injected with B16F1 cells treated with L9Mc (n = 10) or its scrambled peptide (n = 8), and without peptide (control, n = 9). The melanoma primary tumors were subjected to histological and IR imaging analysis. In addition, immunohistochemical staining was performed using anti-Ki-67 and anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibodies. The IR images were analyzed by common K-means clustering to obtain high-contrast IRSH that allowed identifying different ECM tissue regions from the epidermis to the tumor area, which correlated well with H&E staining. Furthermore, IRSH showed good correlation with immunostaining data obtained with anti-Ki-67 and anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibodies, whereby the L9Mc peptide inhibited cell proliferation and increased strongly apoptosis of B16F1 cells in this mouse model of melanoma primary tumors.

Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectral discrimination in human bodily fluids of oesophageal transformation to adenocarcinoma

Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) of biofluids was used to detect oesophageal stages through to oesophageal adenocarcinoma.