Label-Free Raman Spectroscopic Techniques with Morphological and Optical Characterization for Cancer Cell Analysis

Using the Raman spectroscopic analysis system that gives the chemical information of the biomaterials, classification is performed through the acquisition of fingerprint signals for each cell line, and the basis of the diagnosis is provided. The origin of diagnosis can be clarified by precise analysis through comparison of local signals and morphology in cells, including measurement at tissue level. In this result, normal breast cell line (MCF-10A) and breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-453) were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical microscopy. These three modalities were combined in order to not only separate cancerous and noncancerous cell lines but to analyze their morphological and optical properties. From the results, the inherent optical properties of cancer cells separated from normal cells in terms of local variation were observed. Bright-field (BF) transmission imaging is also compared to the morphological height difference obtained from AFM and is correlated with surface Raman spectra.