Page 290 - Vibrational Spectroscopic Imaging for Biomedical Applications

CHAPTER 9

The Current State of

Raman Imaging in

Clinical Application

Mariya Sholkina, Gerwin J. Puppels, and Tom C. Bakker Schut
Center for Optical Diagnostics and Therapy
Department of Dermatology
Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam
The Netherlands

9.1 Introduction
Raman spectroscopy is a noninvasive, nondestructive optical tech-
nique that provides information about the composition, configura-
tion, and interactions of the molecules in the measurement volume.
Raman spectroscopy is a vibrational spectroscopic technique, like
infrared absorption, which does not need labeling or other prepara-
tion of the sample. This makes Raman spectroscopy suitable for in
vitro and in vivo measurements of living cells and tissues. 1
The investigation of the behavior and metabolism of biomolecules
in cells and tissues has become center to scientific fields such as medi-
cal, pharmaceutical, and microbiological diagnostics. Thorough under-
standing of (intra)cellular processes is necessary for the development
of medical diagnostics, smart designed drugs, and in food and envi-
ronmental technology. Standard techniques such as optical micros-
copy and fluorescence spectroscopy used to dominate the field of
bioanalysis because of their ease of use and high sensitivity. How-
ever, all these methods suffer from a lack of specificity and reveal
only little or no molecular information. Vibrational spectroscopic
techniques like infrared (IR) absorption and Raman spectroscopy
provide quantitative molecular specific information of the sample.

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