Unveiling cancer metabolism through spontaneous and coherent Raman spectroscopy and stable isotope probing

Journal article : Review

Metabolic reprogramming is a common hallmark in cancer. The high complexity and heterogeneity in cancer render it challenging for scientists to study cancer metabolism. Despite the recent advances in single-cell metabolomics based on mass spectrometry, the analysis of metabolites is still a destructive process, thus limiting in vivo investigations. Being label-free and nonperturbative, Raman spectroscopy offers intrinsic information for elucidating active biochemical processes at subcellular level. This review summarizes recent applications of Raman-based techniques, including spontaneous Raman spectroscopy and imaging, coherent Raman imaging, and Raman-stable isotope probing, in contribution to the molecular understanding of the complex biological processes in the disease. In addition, this review discusses possible future directions of Raman-based technologies in cancer research.

Authors: Xu, J; Yu, T; Zois, CE; Cheng, JX; Tang, Y

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: Cancers
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 7
• Article number: 1718
• Publication date: 2021-04-05
• Acceptance date: 2021-03-28
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers13071718
• EISSN: 2072-6694
• Language: English
• Keywords: Raman imaging; stimulated Raman scattering; Raman spectroscopy; stable isotope probing; FFR; lipid metabolism; cancer metabolism; coherent Raman anti-Stokes scattering
• Subtype: Review