Biochemical characterization of cell-death via Raman spectroscopy

Necrosis is the dominant form of cell-death that results from several modalities of cancer treatment. An estimate of post-treatment necrosis serves as an useful indicator of treatment efficacy and tumor response. A non-invasive means of identifying necrosis would serve as a useful clinical tool. In this study, we use Raman spectroscopy for the biochemical characterization of necrosis. Necrosis formation in tissue has been modeled in vitro by the use of multicellular spheroids. The relative amounts of various biochemical components have been estimated and correlated with quantitative estimates of necrosis.