Breast Cancer Diagnosis by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) of Urine

Abstract

Background: There is an ongoing research for breast cancer diagnostic tools that are cheaper, more accurate and more convenient than mammography. Methods: In this study, we employed surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for analysing urine from n = 53 breast cancer patients and n = 22 controls, with the aim of discriminating between the two groups using multivariate data analysis techniques such as principal component analysis—linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA). The SERS spectra were acquired using silver nanoparticles synthesized by reduction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride, which were additionally activated with Ca2+ 10−4 M. Results: The addition of Ca(NO3)2 10−4 M promoted the specific adsorption to the metal surface of the anionic purine metabolites such as uric acid, xanthine and hypoxanthine. Moreover, the SERS spectra of urine were acquired without any filtering or processing step for removing protein traces and other contaminants. Using PCA-LDA, the SERS spectra of urine from breast cancer patients were classified with a sensitivity of 81%, a specificity of 95% and an overall accuracy of 88%. Conclusion: The results of this preliminary study contribute to the translation of SERS in the clinical setting and highlight the potential of SERS as a novel screening strategy for breast cancer.

Recent advances in surface‑enhanced Raman spectroscopy based liquid biopsy for colorectal cancer (Review)

“…However, this disadvantage can be exploited in complex matrices such as blood serum or urine for selective analyte detection from complex matrices. Thus, albumin could be detected selectively in urine samples (27), or in case of SERS liquid biopsy for cancer detection, purine metabolites such as uric acid, xanthine or hypoxanthine have been shown to adsorb preferentially to silver or gold nanoparticle surfaces in blood serum or urine (10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

“…Recent fundamental studies indicate that the SERS spectra of cationic and anionic analytes are switched on in a specific manner by the type of adsorbed ion (adion) (28)(29)(30), the role of adions such as Ag + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Cl -, Br -, I -, being explained in the frame of the proposed adion-specific adsorption model (28). Thus, the SERS spectra of uric acid, xanthine and hypoxanthine purine metabolites are enhanced after activation of silver nanoparticles with cationic analytes such as Ca 2+ or Mg 2+ (11,12), whereas albumin and DNA detection require the activation of silver nanoparticles with Iand Cl -, respectively (27,31).…”

“…Raman spectroscopy was proven as a non-destructive and highly accurate cancer diagnostic tool (6)(7)(8), applied also for CRC detection (9). Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a new emerging approach, which is sensitive for performing liquid biopsy and which gained a significant amount of interest due to its versatility (10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

SERS-Based Assessment of MRD in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia?

“…Nonetheless, the concentration of many metabolites is beneath Raman's detection limit ( 78 ). Thus, its low sensitivity often limits its use.…”

Label‐free diagnosis for colorectal cancer through coffee ring‐assisted surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy on blood serum

“…Cancer causes complex changes in the human body, which are difficult to detect with individual biomarkers especially at early stages of the disease. One important advantage of SERS is that it facilitates the detection of cancer‐associated changes in the molecular “fingerprint” of biological fluids, such as saliva , urine and blood. SERS‐based in vitro diagnosis of whole blood , serum and plasma were extensively explored.…”