With consistently high mortality rates in patients with adrenal cancer, lack of early detection and diagnosis are an ever increasing problem in fighting the deadly disease. Currently, very few patients are diagnosed with adrenal cancer within the early stages due to the absence of symptoms until large tumors are formed, which is in most cases is fatal. Because of this, early detection equipment is crucial to optimizing the survival rate in patients. We studied the absorbance wavelength of human adrenal carcinoma cells, as well as the minimum cell concentration needed in samples using photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC). PAFC generates ultrasonic waves when particles under flow absorb laser light. Due to the yellow color in adrenal cancer cells, we demonstrate that cells under flow optimally absorb a laser in blue/indigo color. We also determine the minimum number of cells needed per sample to produce a significant signal within the system. These novel findings will be further used in the future to develop a blood assay for early detection of adrenal cancer cells in the blood stream of patients within a clinical setting, aiding in early diagnosis, and consequentially decreased mortality rates in patients.
","abstract_html":"<p>With consistently high mortality rates in patients with adrenal cancer, lack of early detection and diagnosis are an ever increasing problem in fighting the deadly disease. Currently, very few patients are diagnosed with adrenal cancer within the early stages due to the absence of symptoms until large tumors are formed, which is in most cases is fatal. Because of this, early detection equipment is crucial to optimizing the survival rate in patients. We studied the absorbance wavelength of human adrenal carcinoma cells, as well as the minimum cell concentration needed in samples using photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC). PAFC generates ultrasonic waves when particles under flow absorb laser light. Due to the yellow color in adrenal cancer cells, we demonstrate that cells under flow optimally absorb a laser in blue/indigo color. We also determine the minimum number of cells needed per sample to produce a significant signal within the system. These novel findings will be further used in the future to develop a blood assay for early detection of adrenal cancer cells in the blood stream of patients within a clinical setting, aiding in early diagnosis, and consequentially decreased mortality rates in patients.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stahl, Alexis"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS","degree_level":"Immediate Access","degree_discipline":"Biomedical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["John Viator","Kimberly Williams"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:10:58Z","subjects":["photoacoustics","cell culture","adrenal cancer","flow cytometry","Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1897","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["John Viator","Kimberly Williams"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stahl, Alexis"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-04-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biomedical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Immediate Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["photoacoustics","cell culture","adrenal cancer","flow cytometry","Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1897"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["With consistently high mortality rates in patients with adrenal cancer, lack of early detection and diagnosis are an ever increasing problem in fighting the deadly disease. Currently, very few patients are diagnosed with adrenal cancer within the early stages due to the absence of symptoms until large tumors are formed, which is in most cases is fatal. Because of this, early detection equipment is crucial to optimizing the survival rate in patients. We studied the absorbance wavelength of human adrenal carcinoma cells, as well as the minimum cell concentration needed in samples using photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC). PAFC generates ultrasonic waves when particles under flow absorb laser light. Due to the yellow color in adrenal cancer cells, we demonstrate that cells under flow optimally absorb a laser in blue/indigo color. We also determine the minimum number of cells needed per sample to produce a significant signal within the system. These novel findings will be further used in the future to develop a blood assay for early detection of adrenal cancer cells in the blood stream of patients within a clinical setting, aiding in early diagnosis, and consequentially decreased mortality rates in patients.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Identification of Human Adrenal Carcinoma Cells Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["John Viator","Kimberly Williams"],"dc:creator":["Stahl, Alexis"],"dc:date.available":["2020-04-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["With consistently high mortality rates in patients with adrenal cancer, lack of early detection and diagnosis are an ever increasing problem in fighting the deadly disease. Currently, very few patients are diagnosed with adrenal cancer within the early stages due to the absence of symptoms until large tumors are formed, which is in most cases is fatal. Because of this, early detection equipment is crucial to optimizing the survival rate in patients. We studied the absorbance wavelength of human adrenal carcinoma cells, as well as the minimum cell concentration needed in samples using photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC). PAFC generates ultrasonic waves when particles under flow absorb laser light. Due to the yellow color in adrenal cancer cells, we demonstrate that cells under flow optimally absorb a laser in blue/indigo color. We also determine the minimum number of cells needed per sample to produce a significant signal within the system. These novel findings will be further used in the future to develop a blood assay for early detection of adrenal cancer cells in the blood stream of patients within a clinical setting, aiding in early diagnosis, and consequentially decreased mortality rates in patients.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1897"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["photoacoustics","cell culture","adrenal cancer","flow cytometry","Bioimaging and Biomedical Optics"],"dc:title":["Identification of Human Adrenal Carcinoma Cells Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biomedical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Immediate Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:10:58Z"}