{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T15:42:07Z","timestamp":1785426127981,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781568000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Lodz University of Technology, Poland"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00s8fpf52","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>L-carnitine plays a central role in mitochondrial fatty acid transport and cellular energy regulation; effects on the biochemical phenotype of brain cancer cells remain insufficiently characterized. Here, we applied confocal Raman spectroscopy and imaging to investigate the biochemical alterations induced by L-carnitine supplementation\u2014administered as its tartrate salt\u2014in human astrocytoma cells. Raman spectral analysis revealed distinct changes in lipid-, protein-, nucleic acid-, and cytochrome-associated vibrational features following 24 h of treatment, suggesting alterations in mitochondrial activity and cellular energy-related processes. Principal component analysis identified PC1 (93.87%) as representing the intrinsic biochemical composition of the cells, whereas PC2 (1.19%) and PC3 (0.59%) captured subtle yet consistent variations in lipid organization, protein conformation, and redox-sensitive vibrational features associated with L-carnitine exposure. Pearson correlation analysis of Raman cluster spectra indicated biochemical differences across cellular compartments, with the most pronounced changes observed in lipid droplets, supporting modifications in lipid-associated cellular processes. These findings demonstrate that Raman imaging provides a sensitive, label-free platform for resolving L-carnitine-induced biochemical heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Overall, this study highlights vibrational spectroscopy as a powerful tool for characterizing cellular responses to metabolic modulators and provides insight into the biochemical impact of exogenous L-carnitine in brain cancer cells.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s26123830","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T03:27:21Z","timestamp":1781666841000},"page":"3830","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Biochemical Signatures of L-Carnitine-Induced Changes in Brain Cancer Cells Revealed by Confocal Raman Imaging: A Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6654-0286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jakub Maciej","family":"Surmacki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Laser Molecular Spectroscopy, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wroblewskiego 15, 93-590 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-5415-6050","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Sergot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Laser Molecular Spectroscopy, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wroblewskiego 15, 93-590 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5412-0399","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monika","family":"Kope\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Laser Molecular Spectroscopy, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wroblewskiego 15, 93-590 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"International Agency for Research on Cancer (2024). 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