Determination of volatile biomarkers for apoptosis and necrosis by solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: A pharmacometabolomic approach to cisplatin's cytotoxicity to human lung cancer cell lines

In order to find potential new biomarkers of cisplatin-induced apoptosis and necrosis, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cisplatin-treated human lung cancer cell lines were investigated. The biological system employed was human non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 cell lines. The cell lines were treated with two different concentrations of cisplatin, 100 μM and 400 μM, and apoptosis and necrosis were determined by flow cytometric analysis. For each drug concentration, the VOCs from the treated cell lines were extracted by solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The compounds that change during cisplatin-induced apoptosis and necrosis of lung cancer cell lines can serve as new biomarkers. The pharmacometabolomic approach presented in this study, significantly, implicates a non-destructive, sample-thrifty and time-saving tool for finding new biomarkers for the assessment of drug-induced cell death pathways.