1540 nm LIBS Investigation of Healthy and Pathological Human Nails

The paper discusses the possibility of using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a method for the diagnosis of human nail onychomycosis. LIBS spectra obtained with excitation of plasma on the surface of healthy and onychomycotic nails by pulses of Q switched Yb, Er: Glass laser radiation with a wavelength of 1540 nm were compared for the first time. The spectrum of onychomycotic nail contained unique lines additional to characteristic spectral lines of healthy nails. These additional lines disappeared after 90 days of sample storage in air at room temperature 20 ± 3 °C.