Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for lithium-mediated cancer cell detection and ablation

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been explored for biomedical applications, such as distinguishing between cancerous and healthy tissues. Previous studies have demonstrated altered emission intensities of elements such as Ca, Mg, Zn, and Fe in malignant tissues, suggesting that elemental profiling via LIBS could aid in the detection of tumors. However, challenges such as weak signal intensity and interference from biological matrices have hindered the development of a standardized clinical protocol. This study aims to address these limitations by enhancing LIBS signal specificity using lithium chloride (LiCl) as a tumor labeling agent. The cytotoxicity of LiCl was evaluated on PC-3 prostate cancer cells and L929 mouse fibroblast cells. Subsequently, the LIBS-mediated cancer cell detection and ablation method was tested in both phantom and in vitro cancer models. LIBS analysis revealed a significant lithium signal in LiCl-incubated groups in both phantom and in vitro models, and the system successfully identified and ablated the lithium-labeled regions. These findings suggest that LiCl-mediated LIBS may serve as a foundation for developing a compact, dual-purpose platform for cancer detection and ablation during tumor resection surgery. Future studies will focus on miniaturizing and optimizing the system for animal tests and clinical trials, aiming to delineate tumor margins based on LIBS feedback and ablate the tumor cells with precision.