Abstract
In this study the fluorescence emission spectra of normal and malignant cell cultures were recorded at an excitation wavelength of 290 nm, corresponding to the higher fluorescence intensity at 350 nm (due to tryptophan) of three malignant cells and normal cells. Similarly, Stokes shift spectra were recorded for normal and malignant cell cultures with a shift, Δλ, of 70 nm. The Stokes shift shows the existence of discriminating features between normal and carcinoma cell lines due to the higher concentration of phenylalanine and tryptophan in carcinoma cell lines which are completely absent in normal cell lines. Hence, both the emission spectra and the Stokes shift spectra showed considerably different spectral features between the normal and malignant cells. The preliminary studies indicate the potential application of fluorescence spectroscopy for cancer detection using the spectral features of biofluorophores.