Abstract-Cell viability and hydration assay based on metamaterial-enhanced terahertz spectroscopy

Yu Liu,  Mingjie Tang,  Liangping Xia,  Wenjing Yu,  Jia Peng, Yang Zhang,  Marc Lamy de la Chapelle,  Ke Yang,  Hong-Liang Cui,  Weiling Fu

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/ra/c7ra09609g#!divAbstract

As a fast-growing technology, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is becoming increasingly pervasive in biological applications, targeting a range of biomaterials from biomolecules to tissues. However, THz-TDS studies at the cellular level are quite limited. Thus, a study to analyze the living state and hydration state of a tumor cell in a label-free manner is carried out and reported here. Combined with a specially designed THz metamaterial, a tumor cell monolayer was detected continuously over a period of time. In addition, in order to explore the possible impact of the metamaterial on tumor cells, the secretion of IL-6, IL-8, GM-CSF and GROα of cell supernatants was detected. The results demonstrated that the technology could characterize the living state by monitoring the extracellular water and investigate the hydration state inside a tumor cell in real time, showing great application potential for the label-free detection of normal cells and tumor cells of diverse malignant degree.

Abstract-Terahertz Measurement of the Water Content Distribution in Wood Materials

M. Bensalem, A. Sommier, J. C. Mindeguia, J. C. Batsale, C. Pradere
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10762-017-0441-7

Recently, THz waves have been shown to be an effective technique for investigating the water diffusion within porous media, such as biomaterial or insulation materials. This applicability is due to the sufficient resolution for such applications and the safe levels of radiation. This study aims to achieve contactless absolute water content measurements at a steady state case in semi-transparent solids (wood) using a transmittance THz wave range setup. First, a calibration method is developed to validate an analytical model based on the Beer-Lambert law, linking the absorption coefficient, the density of the solid, and its water content. Then, an estimation of the water content on a local scale in a transient-state case (drying) is performed. This study shows that THz waves are an effective contactless, safe, and low-cost technique for the measurement of water content in a porous medium, such as wood.