Welcome to our project!
Welcome to our project!
Here's what to know before we jump in. . .
In cancer, cells proliferate at very high and fast rates, making a steady source of energy imperative to their survival.
Cancer cells exhibit altered metabolism to support tumorigenesis and metastasis.
Cancer cells are dependent on exogeneous methionine, even when they are able to synthesize its precursor, homocysteine - a phenomenon known as the Hoffman Effect.
Insulin significantly affects amino acid uptake and therefore, has the potential to amplify the effects of methionine and further increase lipogenesis.
TNBC is a subtype of breast cancer characterized by a unique “basal-like” molecular profile, aggressive behavior, distinguishable patterns of metastasis, and a lack of targeted therapies.
The name alludes to the clinically negative expression of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and the hormone epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) protein. Because of the lack of these receptors, common treatments for cancers such as hormone therapy or receptor targeting drugs are ineffective.
Standard protocol for cancer diagnosis involves the use of imaging modalities such as mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - which lack the spatial resolution and specificity to accurately capture the molecular features to distinguish TNBC.
Once sufficient evidence from a scan may suggest a cancer diagnosis, a biopsy is required to confirm cancer diagnosis. The aforementioned imaging modalities also tend to result in a high false positive rate. Therefore, there is a need to develop more accurate diagnostic tools for TNBC.
Raman spectroscopy is a vibrational spectroscopic technique that uses scattered light to determine the vibrational energy modes of a sample. Light interacts with the electrons in a sample and these electrons fall back to a vibrational energy state, indicative of the kind of scattering which has occurred.
Approximately 1 in 10 million scattered photons are scattered inelastically through Raman scattering. In this type of scattering, the electron goes back to its original vibrational energy state. If an electron ascends to a vibrational energy state that is greater than the original - this is known as Stokes Raman scattering and if it descends to an energy state that is less than the original, then it has undergone Anti-Stokes Raman scattering.
Raman spectroscopy allows for subcellular detection of metabolic activity with high spatial resolution. The study of the major macromolecules - proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids - is especially important in clinical applications of Raman. Becoming familiar with the Raman spectra for different molecules can help identify “fingerprint” Raman bands which are unique and can help distinguish molecules from one another.
Made by Derek Chen