A study of the single SGC7901 and GES1 cell using synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy and imaging

Non-destructive molecular FTIR spectromicroscopy for real time assessment of redox metallodrugs

Recent emergence of FTIR spectromicroscopy (micro-FTIR) as a dynamic spectroscopy for imaging to study biological chemistry has opened new possibilities for investigating in situ drug release, redox chemistry effects on biological molecules, DNA and drug interactions, membrane dynamics, and redox reactions with proteins at the single cell level. Micro-FTIR applied to metallodrugs has been playing an important role since the last decade because of its great potential to achieve more robust and controlled pharmacological effects against several diseases, including cancer. An important aspect in the development of these drugs is to understand their cellular properties, such as uptake, accumulation, activity, and toxicity. In this review, we present the potential application of micro-FTIR and its importance for studying metal-based drugs, highlighting the perspectives of chemistry of living cells. We also emphasise bioimaging, which is of high importance to localize the cellular processes, for a proper understanding of the mechanism of action.

Ellagic acid ameliorates cisplatin induced hepatotoxicity in colon carcinogenesis

The clinical application of cisplatin (CP), one of the most extensively used antineoplastic drug, is restricted by its numerous side effects. CP's antitumor potential resides in the free generation of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress. This stress is a source of the side effects associated with its use. Ellagic acid (EA), a polyphenol is known to possess multiple health benefits owing to its antioxidant properties. EA is largely metabolized by the colon microbiota of different mammals and therefore was a polyphenol of choice in the present study. The present study was thus carried out to explore the protective potential of EA on CP induced hepatotoxicity in colon tumor bearing mice. The administration of EA (10 mg/kg bwt po daily for 6 weeks) significantly ameliorated the toxicity caused by CP (5 mg/kg bwt ip once a week for 4 weeks). Activities of liver marker enzymes and lactate dehydrogenase were brought back to normal. EA cotreatment also led to a marked reduction in the extent of peroxidative damage to liver tissue as was evident from the improvement in the histopathological changes observed and FT-IR analysis. The present study, therefore, suggests that the administration of EA reduces the CP-induced hepatotoxicity, thereby emerging out as a potential candidate for chemopreventive action.

FTIR microspectroscopic characterization of Spitz nevi

In the last 10 years, few efforts have been carried out to apply vibrational spectroscopy in the study of dermal pathologies in order to characterize the most relevant spectral markers for distinguishing benign from cancerous lesions. Spitz nevi are a special group of benign melanocytic lesions, characterized by spindled and/or epithelioid nevomelanocytes, with peculiar clinical, dermoscopic and histopathological features. The "atypical forms" of Spitz nevi are among the commonest problems of differential diagnosis with the so-called "spitzoid melanomas". The clinical and histological criteria for discriminating these two entities are very subtle and often still quite subjective, and, in a significant percentage of cases, can lead to diagnostic pitfalls and inadequate therapies. Therefore, it is noteworthy to outline that the diagnosis of melanocytic lesions still represents a challenging problem and a continue matter of discussion. We exploited FTIR microspectroscopy to study the different kinds of spitzoid melanocytes, in order to define the most relevant spectral markers of each specimen and to achieve objective information on "borderline" histologically atypical lesions. In particular, the spectroscopic investigation was carried out on melanocytes deriving from normal skin (as a normal control), malignant melanoma and Spitz nevi. The presence of the characteristic bands of melanin was investigated, too.

Distinction of leukemia patients' and healthy persons' serum using FTIR spectroscopy

In this paper, FTIR spectroscopy was applied to compare the serum from leukemia patients with the serum from healthy persons. IR spectra of leukemia patients' serum were similar with IR spectra of healthy persons' serum, and they were all made up of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, etc. In order to identify leukemia patients' serum and healthy persons' serum, the H1075/H1542, H1045/H1467, H2959/H2931 ratios were measured. The H2959/H2931 ratio had the highest significant difference among these ratios and might be a useful factor for identifying leukemia patients' serum and healthy persons' serum. Furthermore, from curve fitting, the RNA/DNA (A1115/A1028) ratios were observed to be lower in leukemia patients' serum than those in healthy persons' serum. The results indicated FTIR spectroscopic study of serum might be a useful tool in the field of leukemia research and diagnosis.

Distinction of broken cellular wall Ganoderma lucidum spores and G. lucidum spores using FTIR microspectroscopy

In this paper, FTIR microspectroscopy was used to identify broken cellular wall Ganoderma lucidum spores and G. lucidum spores. For IR spectra, broken cellular wall G. lucidum spores and G. lucidum spores were mainly different in the regions of 3000-2800, 1660-1600, 1400-1200 and 1100-1000 cm(-1). For curve fitting, the results showed the differences in the protein secondary structures and the polysaccharide structures/content between broken cellular wall G. lucidum spores and G. lucidum spores. Moreover, the value of A1078/A1741 might be a potentially useful factor to distinguish broken cellular wall G. lucidum spores from G. lucidum spores. Additionally, FTIR microspectroscopy could identify broken cellular wall G. lucidum spores and G. lucidum spores accurately when it was combined with hierarchical cluster analysis. The result suggests FTIR microspectroscopy is very simple and efficient for distinction of broken cellular wall G. lucidum spores and G. lucidum spores. The result also indicates FTIR microspectroscopy may be useful for TCM identification.