Detecting mouse glioma tissues with a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy technique

Brain glioma is the most frequent primary tumor of the nervous system, and has serious adverse effects on public health and social economy. A technique that can be used to precisely detect glioma is highly demanded. Here, we report on that the terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, a rapid, label-free and non-destructive technique, was utilized to probe mouse tissue slices containing glioma. The results show that the glioma can be discriminated in the frequency range of 0.7-1.6 THz on the basis that the refractive index as well as the absorption coefficient of glioma are higher than the normal tissue, which can be attributed to the higher cell density and water content of the glioma. The present work validates that it is feasible to detect glioma with a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy technique.