Fluorescence spectra of normal and adenocarcinoma of excised breast samples have been examined in the entire UV-Visible spectral region using a laboratory based spectrofluorimeter. Excitation wavelengths near 330, 370, 410 and 450 nm appear to be effective in discriminating cancerous specimens from normal. Based on the excitation emission studies of pure compounds, the spectral features in these tissue specimens can be attributed to collagen, elastin, porphyrin derivatives, and possibly FAD. The exact assignments could not be made of because of the intense hemoglobin absorption of excitation and emission light at 420, 540 and 580 nm. This effect is exacerbated because of the non-fiber optic light delivery and collection geometry used in collecting the EEMs. We have recently developed a fiber optic based excitation emission system capable of collecting spectra under 1 sec. This system is presently being used to collect multi-excitation fluorescence spectra from breast tissues. In addition, diffuse reflectance is also being collected at the same time, to correct for hemoglobin absorption in the excitation and emission spectra.
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