Maryam, S., Benazza, A., Fahy, E., Sekar, S. K. V., U.S., D., Olivo, M., Riordain, R. N., Andersson-Engels, S., Humbert, G., Komolibus, K., & Gautam, R. (2025). Liquid saliva analysis using optofluidic photonic crystal fiber for detection of oral potentially malignant disorders. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 332, 125788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2025.125788
Abstract:
Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) serve as early indicators of
oral cancer. These conditions require reliable, non-invasive and real-time
diagnostic methods for effective detection and screening. Saliva, as an easily
accessible and non-invasive biofluid, has emerged as a promising tool to detect
OPMD-associated biomarkers. This proof-of-concept study investigated the
application of suspended-core optofluidic photonic crystal fibers (PCF) for
Raman spectroscopy to distinguish between saliva from healthy controls and
OPMD patients. This novel approach provides enhanced Raman signals
through prolonged interactions between the excitation light and the saliva
sample along the length of the PCF. Raman spectra of liquid saliva samples
were collected from eleven participants, including six OPMD patients and five
healthy controls. Notable spectral differences were identified at 1123 cm−1,
1251 cm−1, and 1454 cm−1, which correspond to carbohydrates, proteins,
and lipids, respectively. In vivo tissue measurements were recorded as a
reference for comparative analysis from the same patients. Our findings suggest that PCF-based Raman spectroscopy holds promise as a non-invasive
diagnostic platform for oral cancer screening by enabling the monitoring of
subtle molecular changes in liquid saliva.
License type:
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), National Research Foundation Singapore - Agence Nationale de la Recherche - National Research Foundation Singapore Joint Bilateral Grant
Grant Reference no. : NRF2021-NRF-ANR002
This research / project is supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche - NA
Grant Reference no. : ANR-18-EURE-0017 TACTIC, ANR 320 21-CE42-0027-01
This research / project is supported by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research Singapore, University of Limoges - International Research Project “FiberMed”
Grant Reference no. :