Towards cohort study of cutaneous cancers using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

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The skin is the largest organ of the human body that serves as a protection from external influences. These adverse environmental influences may be the reason for skin to develop from various diseases, such as cancer. A tumor can generally be described as an unhealthy tissue in which body cells divide and grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. According to the researchers, cancer infected tissues change the shape of the cells and their chemical composition. These changes in elemental composition can be observed using LIBS, where imaging of biotic elements (Ca, Mg, P, C, and Na) provides information about the distribution of soft tissue elements and, consequently, the location of cancerous tissue. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a quasi-destructive analytical method with extensive elemental analysis capabilities. LIBS uses a high-frequency pulsed laser (typically an Nd:YAG). The laser pulse is focused into a tight spot inducing high-intensity irradiation of the material and its ablation; consequently, a luminous micro-plasma is created. The laser pulse parameters play a crucial role in the laser-matter interaction and contribute to the complex phenomenon of plasma formation and its thermodynamic properties. In contrast to commonly used methods that focus on mapping the sample's surface, LIBS allows high-speed imaging experiments with frequencies in the kHz range and spatial resolution down to several micrometers. In recent years, this technique has become increasingly popular for the challenging analysis of soft cancer tissues. This work builds on previous work from our team. It deals with the most aggressive type of skin cancer, melanoma, associated with a very high mortality rate. Nearly 20 human skin melanoma samples were studied using the LIBS method. In these samples, common features that could lead to the possibility of diagnosing melanomas by LIBS were thoroughly investigated.

soft tissues, cancer tissues, bioimaging, Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

KOPŘIVOVÁ, H.; KISS, K.; BUDAY, J.; VRLÍKOVÁ, L.; KAŠKA, M.; BUCHTOVÁ, M.; KAISER, J.; POŘÍZKA, P.

5. 10. 2022