The use of Raman spectroscopy to provide an estimation of the gross biochemistry associated with urological pathologies

Abstract

Near-infrared Raman spectroscopy, an optical technique that is able to interrogate biological tissues, has been used to study bladder and prostate tissues, with the objective being to provide a first approximation of gross biochemical changes associated with the process of carcinogenesis. Prostate samples for this study were obtained by taking a chip at TURP, and bladder samples from a biopsy taken at TURBT and TURP, following ethical approval. Spectra were taken from purchased biochemical constituents and different pathologies within the bladder and the prostate. We were then able to determine the biochemical basis for these pathologies by utilising an ordinary least-squares fit. We have shown for the first time that we are able to utilise Raman spectroscopy in determining the biochemical basis for the different pathologies within the bladder and prostate gland. In this way we can achieve a better understanding of disease processes such as carcinogenesis. This could have major implications in the future of the diagnosis of disease within the bladder and the prostate gland.

Raman active components of skin cancer

“…Our approach was to select only one Raman constituent to represent those in situ components that were chemically similar and with high collinearity. Similarly, Stone et al demonstrated that including both amino acids and the proteins containing them in a linear model skewed the fit coefficients [16]. Our experience is that minimizing the number of protein components resulted in the most consistent fit coefficients.…”

“…The building blocks of our model are Raman active components extracted from skin in situ. Previous biophysical models used model components either measured directly from synthetic/purified chemicals [9,[15][16][17][18], or extracted from tissue sections in situ [19][20][21]. The advantage of using synthetic/purified chemicals as model components is that they can be easily measured without the need for Raman micro-imaging.…”

Raman Spectroscopy: A Novel Experimental Approach to Evaluating Renal Tumours

“…Raman spectroscopy (RS) is based on molecular inelastic scattering of light [6]: when photons interact with a molecule, the transmission of their energy raises the molecule's vibrational state. When the molecule returns to its background level, a photon is emitted at a different wavelength from the incident light.…”

Optimal choice of sample substrate and laser wavelength for Raman spectroscopic analysis of biological specimen

“…Previous studies have reported the use of a wide range of substrates including calcium uoride, [8][9][10] aluminium, 11,12 quartz 13-15 and 3D collagen gels. 16 However, substrates that produce low background signals for NIR sources are oen expensive, and are available in different levels of purity/lm thicknesses, which can produce variable results with Raman spectroscopy.…”