Raman Spectroscopy Techniques: Developments and Applications in Translational Medicine

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for measuring chemical properties of biological samples. This technique is based on inelastic scattering of light by molecules. The frequency shifts of the scattered light are related to the characteristic vibrational frequencies of the molecules, therefore the Raman spectrum is a “chemical fingerprint” of the sample. Raman spectroscopy has several features that make it attractive for translational medicine applications: (i) it requires no (or minimal) sample preparation; (ii) no labelling is required as diagnosis is based on the intrinsic chemical contrast of the sample; (iii) Raman spectroscopy uses light in the visible or near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, where high performance microscopy and optoelectronics components have been developed during the last decades. Thus, recent advances in laser technologies, fibre optics, optical microscopes and light detectors, have brought Raman spectroscopy closer to real medical and clinical applications. This chapter reviews the main Raman spectroscopy techniques applied to translational medicine and provides an overview of various applications.