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The screening results were reported based on the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of the samples of exfoliated cervical cells from 354 women. Their spectra can be sorted into two types based on the emerging or not of the absorption bands near 970 cm−1 and 1 170 cm−1: T1 (83.1%) type without emerging, and T2 (16.9%) type with obviously emerging. All of the samples assigned to T1 were cytologically diagnosed as normal or within normal limits (Pap I). 28.9% and 71.1% of samples exhibiting T2 profile, were cytologically evaluated as Pap I and abnormal respectively. 3 women in the abnormal group were diagnosed as to have cervical cells with changes associated with high grade of inflammation, cervical scar and cervical erosion. Furthermore, based on the progressive change of the relative intensities of the absorption bands, both T1 and T2 profiles can be categorized into 6 subtypes. The observed heterogeneous spectra and the progressive changes in the absorption frequencies and the relative intensities exhibit features suggestive of the progressive process of cervical lesion. The FTIR method has the potential to complement the cytological smear for large-volume screening of cervical lesions.

The compositions of the secondary structures of protein in the human breast normal, hyperplasia, fibroadenoma and invasive ductal carcinoma tissues have been estimated from the Fourier self deconvolved spectra, the second derivative spectra and the curve-fitting analysis of the amide I bands in their spectra. Some parameters of the secondary structures of proteins in these 4 types of tissues are significantly different and located in separate ranges. Fibroadenoma tissue demonstrates the most remarkable difference in the compositions of α-helical and atypical helical structures. The carcinoma tissue has the highest ratio of the intermolecular β-sheet content and the intramolecular β-sheet content. This noticeable difference in the secondary structure may have important implications for analyzing the properties and types of human breast disease.

Considerable compositional differences of water, nucleic acids and proteins were observed between benign and malignant breast tissues based on the curve-fitting analysis of the infrared absorption band in the frequency region 3100–3600 cm–1. Compared to normal tissue, the tendency of an increase in the proportions of strongly H-bonded water (ASBW) with biomolecules and a decrease in that of weakly H-bonded water (AWBW) was observed in abnormal tissues. Subsequently, ASBW/AWBW ratios dramatically increased. The proportions of nucleic acid–NH2 groups (ANA) and the proportions of protein N–H groups (APR) in abnormal tissues increased from those of normal tissue. The ratios ANA/APR in fibroadenoma and carcinoma tissues are higher than those in normal and hyperplasia tissues whose ANA/APR ratios are located in the same region. The ANA and ANA/APR in carcinoma tissue are the highest. These differences may be related to the cell proliferation in abnormal tissues and the unregulated growth and dedifferentiation of carcinoma cells.