Label-free study on the effect of a bioactive constituent on glioma cells in vitro using terahertz ATR spectroscopy

• Main Authors: Chen, L. (Author), Li, X. (Author), Liao, Y. (Author), Liu, Z. (Author), Tang, M. (Author), Wang, H. (Author), Zhang, M. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA) 2022
• Subjects: Absorption coefficients; ATR spectroscopy; Attenuated total reflection spectroscopy; Bioactives; Cell culture; Cell proliferation; Fluorescence microscopy; Ginsenosides; Glioma cells; In-vitro; Label free; Tera Hertz; Terahertz spectroscopy; Time domain; Tumors
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher
• Physical Description: 13
• ISBN: 21567085 (ISSN)
• DOI: 10.1364/BOE.452952

In this work, we report that the effect of bioactive constituent on living glioma cells can be evaluated using terahertz time-domain attenuated total reflection (THz TD-ATR) spectroscopy in a label-free, non-invasive, and fast manner. The measured THz absorption coefficient of human glioma cells (U87) in cell culture media increases with ginsenoside Rg3 (G-Rg3) concentration in the range from 0 to 50 µM, which can be interpreted as that G-Rg3 deteriorated the cellular state. This is supported either by the cell growth inhibition rate measured using a conventional cell viability test kit or by the cellular morphological changes observed with fluorescence microscopy. These results verify the effectiveness of using the THz TD-ATR spectroscopy to detect the action of G-Rg3 on glioma cells in vitro. The demonstrated technique thus opens a new route to assessing the efficacy of bioactive constituents on cells or helping screen cell-targeted drugs. © 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.