New Markers for Determining the Chemical and Isomeric Composition of Carotenoids by Raman Spectroscopy

The experimental and calculated on the basis of density functional theory Raman spectra of plant and bacterial carotenoids (neurosporene, spheroidene, lycopene, spirilloxanthin, β-carotene, lutein, ζ-carotene, α-carotene, and γ-carotene) are analyzed. A number of characteristic features in the Raman spectra of carotenoids are described for the first time, which make it possible to determine the structure of the end groups of molecules and to distinguish their isomers.