Novel Approaches in the Diagnostics of Ear-Nose-Throat Diseases Using High-Resolution THz Spectroscopy

Abstract

Nowadays, physicochemical methods of analysis are used in medical diagnostics. One can identify metabolites characteristic of a particular disease. The compilation of a metabolic profile will facilitate the diagnosis of diseases, evaluate their stage and etiology, and predict treatment. The goal of the study is to analyze the metabolite composition of the ear-nose-throat (ENT) tissues by high-resolution THz spectroscopy based on nonstationary effects and compare metabolites formed during the thermal decomposition of relatively healthy mucosa, polyps, and cysts. Studies were performed with the spectrometers operating from 118 to 178 GHz. The chemical compounds were identified using online catalogs. In all samples, there are such substances as methanol, propanediol, acetaldehyde, acetonitrile, butyronitrile, methyl mercaptan, azole, ethylene sulfide, carbon sulfide, and sulfur dioxide. In the spectrum of relatively healthy mucosa, the number of absorption lines of these substances is much less than in the spectrum of the polyps and cysts, which indicates their lower concentration. In the products of the polyps and cysts, acetone, hydroxyacetone, dihydroxyacetone, propionitrile, acrylonitrile, aminopropionitrile, hydroxyacetonitrile, aminoacetonitrile, methylbutironitrile, propanal, glycolaldehyde, lactaldehyde, and malone dialdehyde appear. The products of cysts’ thermal decomposition also contain acetic and acrylic acids. High-resolution THz spectroscopy has been shown to be promising for detecting disease metabolites in ENT tissues.