Investigating cellular responses to novel chemotherapeutics in renal cell carcinoma using SR-FTIR spectroscopy.

SR-FTIR spectroscopy was evaluated as a technique to discriminate spectral signals of cellular response at the single cell level, when cancer cells are exposed to chemotherapeutics. 5-Fluorouracil, an established drug of known mode of action, was tested against a renal carcinoma cell line (Caki-2), along with two experimental analogues of gold-based compounds. The use of unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) failed to clearly define any distinction between control and drug treated cell spectra. Supervised principal component linear discriminant analysis (PC-LDA) did have some potential to reveal signatures of cell response and repair but again failed to distinctly discriminate groups of spectra with different drug treatments. Alternatively, clear PCA discrimination was observed in spectra from average cell populations via single point benchtop spectroscopy, probing several cells simultaneously with an increased aperture. The Caki-2 cell line initially appeared to be sensitive to the novel compounds, inducing a cellular response prior to subsequential cell recovery which was assessed by both PCA and cell viability assays.

Highlighting a need to distinguish cell cycle signatures from cellular responses to chemotherapeutics in SR-FTIR spectroscopy.

Previous research has seen difficulties in establishing clear discrimination by principal component analysis (PCA) between drug-treated cells analysed by single point SR-FTIR spectroscopy, relative to multisampling cell monolayers by conventional FTIR. It is suggested that the issue arises due to signal mixing between cellular-response signatures and cell cycle phase contributions in individual cells. Consequently, chemometric distinction of cell spectra treated with multiple drugs is difficult even with supervised methods. In an effort to separate cell cycle chemistry from cellular response chemistry in the spectra, renal carcinoma cells were stained with propidium iodide and fluorescent-activated cell sorted (FACS) after exposure to a number of chemotherapeutic compounds; 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and a set of novel gold-based experimental compounds. The cell spectra were analysed separately by PCA in G(1), S or G(2)/M phase. The mode of action of established drug 5FU, known to disrupt S phase, was confirmed by FACS analysis. The chemical signature of 5FU-treated cells discriminated against both the control and gold-compound (KF0101)-treated cell spectra, suggesting a different mode of action due to a difference in cellular response.

Direct evidence for a ruthenium(IV) oxo complex-mediated oxidation of a hydroxamic acid in the presence of phosphine oxide donors.

Ruthenium(II) complexes can be used to oxidise N-Boc hydroxylamine the the presence of tert-butylhydroperoxide to the corresponding nitroso dienophile, which is trapped using cyclohexa-1,3-diene as the hetero-Diels-Alder adduct; direct evidence has been obtained for the intervention of a triphenylphosphine oxide-stabilised ruthenium(IV) oxocomplex as the catalytically active species.