Toward a SERS Diagnostic Tool for Discrimination between Cancerous and Normal Bladder Tissues via Analysis of the Extracellular Fluid

Edvinas Zacharovas; Martynas Velička; Gediminas Platkevičius; Albertas Čekauskas; Aru Nas Želvys; Gediminas Niaura; Valdas Šablinskas

doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c00058

Toward a SERS Diagnostic Tool for Discrimination between Cancerous and Normal Bladder Tissues via Analysis of the Extracellular Fluid

ACS Omega. 2022 Mar 17;7(12):10539-10549. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c00058. eCollection 2022 Mar 29.

Authors

Edvinas Zacharovas¹, Martynas Velička¹, Gediminas Platkevičius², Albertas Čekauskas², Aru Nas Želvys², Gediminas Niaura^{1

3}, Valdas Šablinskas¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Chemical Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Saulėtekis Avenue 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania.
² Clinic of Gastroenterology, Nephrourology, and Surgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M.K. Čiurlionio st. 21/27, LT-03101 Vilnius, Lithuania.
³ Department of Organic Chemistry, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), Saulėtekis Avenue 3, LT 10257, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Abstract

Vibrational spectroscopy provides the possibility for sensitive and precise detection of chemical changes in biomolecules due to development of cancers. In this work, label-free near-infrared surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was applied for the differentiation between cancerous and normal human bladder tissues via analysis of the extracellular fluid of the tissue. Specific cancer-related SERS marker bands were identified by using a 1064 nm excitation wavelength. The prominent spectral marker band was found to be located near 1052 cm^-1 and was assigned to the C-C, C-O, and C-N stretching vibrations of lactic acid and/or cysteine molecules. The correct identification of 80% of samples is achieved with even limited data set and could be further improved. The further development of such a detection method could be implemented in clinical practice for the aid of surgeons in determining of boundaries of malignant tumors during the surgery.