Leukemia Research xxx (2005) xxx–xxx Continuous monitoring of WBC (biochemistry) in an adult leukemia patient using advanced FTIR-spectroscopy Ranjit Kumar Sahu a,1 , Udi Zelig b,1 , Mahmoud Huleihel c , Nir Brosh d , Marina Talyshinsky c , Miriam Ben-Harosh d , Shaul Mordechai a,∗ , Jossi Kapelushnik d a Department of Physics and the Cancer Research Center, Ben Gurion University (BGU), Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel b Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben Gurion University, (BGU), Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel c Department of Virology, Faculty of Health Sciences and the National Center of Biotechnology, Ben Gurion University, (BGU), Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel d Department of Hematology, Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC), Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel Received 20 June 2005 Abstract Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)-spectroscopy has been found useful for monitoring the effectiveness of drugs during chemotherapy in leukemia patients. In the present work, spectral changes that occurred in the white blood cells (WBC) of an adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient and their possible utilization for monitoring biochemistry of WBC were investigated. The phosphate absorbance from nucleic acids and the lipid–protein ratio in the WBC decreased immediately after treatment and then increased to levels of a control group. Similar observations were recorded in child patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who were used as test cases. These parameters maybe used as possible markers to indicate successful remission and suggest that FTIR-spectroscopy may provide a rapid optical method for continuous monitoring or evaluation of a WBC population. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Leukemia; WBC; FTIR-microscopy; Chemotherapy; Markers 1. Introduction Leukemia is characterized by a large number of immature cells (blasts) in the blood. The cells are in a different growth stage compared to what are normally present in the blood. The changes in tissue biochemistry are reflected as spectral changes. This is the principle behind several diagnostic tools that are based on spectroscopic methods. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)-spectroscopy is one such area that has seen rapid development in the past decade with a promise of eas- ier, rapid and objective diagnosis [1]. FTIR-spectroscopy is also an effective and non-destructive method to monitor cel- lular changes [2,3]. Diseases of several organs have been identified using structure and quantity of biomolecules in ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +972 8 646 1749; fax: +972 8 647 2903. E-mail address: shaulm@bgumail.bgu.ac.il (S. Mordechai). 1 Contributed equally to the work biological samples such as proteins [4], nucleic acids [5] and lipids [6]. Chemotherapy decreases the blast count [7,8]. Chemo- therapeutic drugs such as doxorubicin and vincristine inter- fere with cell division by binding to the DNA and targeting its synthesis or function [7]. In non-dividing cells; however, the lethal effects are due to their ability to interfere with DNA repair polymerases as well as lipid biosynthetic enzymes. Thus, the presence of blasts in the blood is used as an indicator of residual malignancy during treatment and care of leukemia patients after induction of chemotherapy. However, no studies have been carried out to examine the biochemistry of white blood cells (WBC) to see whether they become biochemi- cally normal following chemotherapy, though conventional blood profiles are studied. Rapid and continuous monitoring of biochemistry of WBCs on a molecular level remains a chal- lenge, which is also essential for the well being of the patient. Thus, we studied FTIR-spectroscopy as a potential reagent 0145-2126/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.leukres.2005.10.011 LR-2305; No. of Pages 7