Non-Invasive Real-Time Monitoring and Label-Free Sensing of Hydrogen Peroxide in Human Brain Cancer Cells Through Raman Spectroscopy

• Darrell B. Tata

  U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA

• Ilko K. Ilev

  U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA

 We present evidence that real-time optical monitoring of human brain cancer cells through forward Raman spectroscopy can be used as a highly sensitive non-invasive label-free tool in acquiring real-time information on the cellular metabolic activity through the concentration levels of selective biomarkers. In this investigation, we quantified the concentration level of a natural by-product of cellular respiration, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), through its characteristic Raman signature due to the transitions of O-O vibration energy level, resulting in a sharp Raman scatter frequency shift around 880cm^-1. The experimental findings revealed that 3.75´10⁶ cells to have produced a substantial amount (3%) of H₂O₂.

Brookes PS, Yoon Y, Robotham JL, Anders MW, Sheu S. Calcium, ATP, and ROS: a mitochondrial love-hate triangle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2004; 287: C819-C833. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00139.2004

Szatrowski TP, Nathan CF. Production of Large Amounts of Hydrogen Peroxide by Human Tumor Cells. Cancer Res 1991; 51: 794-98.

Heales S, Bolanos JP, Stewart VC, Brookes PS, Land JM, Clark JB. Nitric oxide, mitochondria and neurological disease. BBA 1999; 1410: 215-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0005-2728(98)00168-6

Bolanos JP, Moro MA, Lizasoain I, Almeida A. Mitochondria and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in neurological disorders and stroke: Therapeutic implications. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2009; 61: 1299-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2009.05.009

Tata D, Waynant R. Laser therapy: A review of its mechanism of action and potential medical applications. Laser Photonics Rev 2011; 5: 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lpor.200900032

Karu T. Mitochondrial signaling in mammalian cells activated by red and near-IR radiation. Photochem Photobio 2008; 84: 1091-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-1097.2008.00394.x

Lavi R, Shainberg A, Shneyvays V, et al. Detailed Analysis of Reactive Oxygen Species Induced by Visible Light in Various Cell Types. Lasers Surg Med 2010; 42: 473-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lsm.20919

Taylor RC, Cross PC. Raman Spectra of Hydrogen Peroxide in Condensed Phases. The Spectra of the Pure Liquid and Its Aqueous Solutions. J Chem Phys 1956; 24: 41-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1700850

• PDF