NORMAL AND MALIGNANT HUMAN COLONIC TISSUES INVESTIGATED BY PRESSURE-TUNING FT-IR SPECTROSCOPY

Infrared spectra of the epithelial, the connective, the mucosa, and th e malignant tissues of the human colon have been measured as a functio n of pressure. Infrared spectra of collagen proteins have also been me asured and compared with the connective tissue. The infrared spectra o f different types of colon tissues exhibit significantly different pat terns. With these specific infrared patterns, the tissue types of the colon can be differentiated unambiguously. Many structural changes at the molecular level from normal epithelium to malignant tumor have bee n derived from the spectral features of these two related tissues. The se structural changes in carcinogenesis of the colon are comparable wi th those in other human cancers. The present results suggest that dete rmination of these infrared spectra may be applied to the rapid identi fication of normal tissue types of the colon and evaluation of colon c ancer.