Raman spectroscopy and imaging in bio and life sciences

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy is a well-known technique to study different materials and determine their chemical composition. It is based on the inelastic scattering of light and provides a unique spectrum for the sample under study. The advances in lasers and detectors, their combination with imaging systems and the discovery of new phenomena have expanded the use of this technique in several research fields. In the particular case of biology and life sciences, it has been used to provide chemical and compositional information on plant and animal tissues, cells, biofluids, etc., with the advantage that the presence of water molecules normally does not cause interference in the measured signal.