A review of novel analytical diagnostics for liquid biopsies: spectroscopic and spectrometric serum profiling of primary and secondary brain tumors

Abstract

IntroductionSpectroscopic and spectrometric analysis of biological samples is regarded as quick, cost effective, easy to operate, and spectroscopic sample preparation involves minimal sample preparation.ResultsTechniques like infrared (IR) spectroscopy, surface‐enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI)‐mass spectroscopy (MS), and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) ‐MS could enable early diagnosis of cancer, disease monitoring, and assessment of treatment responses allowing refinement, if required.DiscussionCarrying out analytical testing within outpatient clinics would dramatically cut the time spent by patients attending different appointments, at different locations, save hospital time and resources but importantly would theoretically enable a reduction in mortality and morbidity. While the advantages of such a prospect seem obvious, this review aims to evaluate the use of human serum spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis as a diagnostic tool for brain cancers, creating a platform for the future of cancer diagnostics.

Clinical applications of infrared and Raman spectroscopy: state of play and future challenges

“…Raman spectroscopy has similarly been demonstrated to accurately predict Hepatitis C viral loads in dried patient plasma samples [145], although the inherently higher spatial resolution of Raman microscopy renders it less favourable for integrating measurements over an inhomogeneous, dried deposit. Ultimately, in order to enable clinical translation there needs to be a focus on large population studies and procedural and instrumental standardisation to enable regulatory requirements to be met [146] Figure 7: ATR-FTIR Serum dilution study of dried drops. Original spectral images were atmospheric corrected.…”

Biofluid spectroscopic disease diagnostics: A review on the processes and spectral impact of drying

“…Also, it has been shown that protein imbalances in biofluids can give an indication of disease states . There have been many proof‐of‐principle experiments highlighting the potential use of spectroscopic techniques in the clinic, mainly focused on Raman and infrared (IR) techniques .…”

Investigating pre‐analytical requirements for serum and plasma based infrared spectro‐diagnostic

“…Spectroscopy can provide diagnostic results within minutes, giving access to a full molecular profile of a patient sample rather than current techniques targeting a specific biomarker . Therefore, spectroscopy could be an excellent competitive alternative to expensive and time‐consuming methods . Serum based spectroscopy has proved its potential as a clinical diagnostic tool in a number of proof‐of‐concept studies .…”