ArF laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of the Capecitabine chemodrug

Abstract

Simultaneous diagnosis and treatment during chemotherapy is an attractive topic in nano-oncology. Here, Capecitabine, as a well-known chemodrug, demonstrates notable fluorescence properties according to laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy. Capecitabine is vastly used for breast and colon cancer therapy, while its excitation wavelength lies over UV region (180-350 nm). ArF laser with an excitation wavelength at 193 nm is exploited to stimulate the fluorophore molecules. As a biocompatible fluorophore, Capecitabine reveals predominant fluorescence characteristics for simultaneous diagnosis during chemotherapeutic treatment. The laser energy and repetition rate affect on the spectral properties of Capecitabine have been studied in this work to find out the optimal exposure condition. Moreover, the spectral shifts in terms of fluorophore concentrations are obtained for the purpose of fluorescence imaging. Here, lucid red shift in terms of chemodrug concentration and the red shift in various GO densities at certain Capecitabine concentrations are reported. Spectral red shift of Capecitabine directly addresses the concentration distribution and penetration depth of the chemodrug. As a consequence, LIF spectroscopy of Capecitabine is beneficial for fluorescence imaging and confocal mapping of cancerous tissues during simultaneous diagnosis/imaging and treatment. Similarly, LIF of RdB as a reference fluorophore is carried out to compare its fluorescence properties with those parameters in the chemodrugs of interest.