Biomechanics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Biomechanics, including details on mechanics of living organisms, movement, locomotion, prosthetic limbs.

Confocal spectral imaging in tissue with contrast provided by Raman vibrational signatures.

Whitley A, Adar F

Horiba Jobin Yvon, Edison, NJ 08820, USA. whitley@jobinyvon.com

Confocal Raman imaging of biological materials offers the opportunity to extract chemical information on histologically defined regions and on sub-cellular organelles. This article reviews the technology and some successful applications. The chemical contrast from vibrational Raman spectroscopy is derived from the specific atomic motion of every molecule as detected by the Raman phenomenon. Examples show the successful identification of foreign material in pathological specimens, identification of lipid-type and calcium mineral-type in a mouse model of atherosclerosis, and component mapping in a pharmaceutical tablet. It is suggested that these methods can even be useful in studying metabolic disorders.

Published 18 September 2006 in Cytometry A, 69(8): 880-7.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Biomechanics Research Today. All Rights Reserved.