Clinical translational application of Raman spectroscopy to advance Benchside biochemical characterization to bedside diagnosis of esophageal diseases

Abstract

Esophageal diseases result in significant mortality, morbidity, and health care costs worldwide. Current approaches to detect and monitor esophageal diseases have severe limitations. Advanced imaging technologies are being developed to complement current approaches to improve diagnostic, therapeutic and surveillance protocols in order to advance the field. Raman spectroscopy-based technologies hold promise to increase the sensitivity for detection of diseased and high-risk lesions in vitro and in vivo in real time. This technique allows for the investigation of microstructural changes and also facilitates the discovery of disease-specific biochemical alterations with the potential to provide novel insights into the pathobiology of these conditions. Raman spectroscopy has been increasingly applied in precancerous and cancerous esophageal conditions. However, its application in benign esophageal diseases is still in the early stages. Continuing its application in cancerous and precancerous conditions and expanding its use to benign esophageal disorders could lay a foundation for integration of this technology in clinical practice and diagnostic paradigms and development of an accurate and cost-effective tool for use in a clinical setting. Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy can also be used as an innovative technique to advance our understanding of the biochemical transformations associated with esophageal diseases and answer a myriad of fundamental questions in the field. In this review, we described the principles of Raman spectroscopy and instrumentation while providing an overview of current applications, challenges, and future directions in the context of esophageal diseases with an emphasis on its clinical translational application.

Targets, Therapies and the Role of Serial Biopsies for Prognostication and Assessing Changes to Tumour Biology in Oesophageal and Oesophagogastric Junction Cancers

“…nanoparticles and Raman spectroscopy), fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography at 4-8 weeks after completing treatment is the test of choice for identifying metastasis after treatment with chemoradiation. [47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) enables direct visualization, tissue retrieval, therapeutic resection and ablation. While some advocate for using OGD following definitive chemoradiation to evaluate for residual tumour, others advise caution given its low sensitivity and poor positive predictive value.…”

Design and Synthesis of SERS Materials for In Vivo Molecular Imaging and Biosensing

“…shown highly promising developments in clinical translation. [197] Recently, SERS has been widely used to detect tiny tumor foci and guide tumor resection. [45a] Gambhir et al used spontaneous brain tumors in dogs as a model (very similar to human brain tumors) and applied an Au@SiO 2 SERS nanoprobe for sensitive and micro-resolution SERS detection of canine spontaneous brain tumors.…”

Biomolecular Corona Associated with Nanostructures: The Potentially Disruptive Role of Raman Microscopy

“…Naturally, most of the light scatters elastically, and only a small proportion scatters inelastically. [170] To overcome this limitation, methods of increasing the sensitivity and intensity of Raman signals have been developed. The enhancement of Raman scattering in the presence of a metallic substrate was first observed by Fleischmann et al [171] This was an unintended discovery, as the main aim of the study was to use Raman spectroscopy to distinguish two types of pyridine adsorption on the surface of a silver electrode.…”

“…Naturally, most of the light scatters elastically, and only a small proportion scatters inelastically. [ 170 ]…”