Special Issues-06-02-2004

The authors discuss how the Raman microscope is being used successfully to characterize pharmaceuticals, analyze disease states, and to characterize semiconductors and nanotechnologies.

This article examines advances that have been made to combine existing analytical techniques with Raman instrumentation. Some of these methods offer enhanced sample visualization, while others provide complementary vibrational spectroscopic information from a single sample point.

The authors discuss several sample types encountered in their laboratory for which Raman spectroscopy is the only reliable method of analysis. The technique is shown to be a routine and cost-effective tool for the industrial laboratory.

The authors review a surface enhanced laser Raman spectroscopy study of lung surfactant protein interaction with bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

This article overviews several recent advancements in Raman components that are enabling high analytical performance in low-cost Raman instruments.

The authors show how a multivariate curve resolution algorithm, called SIMPLe-to-use Interactive Self-modeling Mixture Analysis (SIMPLISMA), can facilitate the quantitative and qualitative analysis of difficult samples, and apply the algorithm to a technically challenging Raman spectra series for carbamazepine polymorphs.

Raman spectroscopy is used routinely by the agencies tasked with homeland defense, and current research using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy shows promise for the detection of chemical warfare agents and other toxic chemicals. This article overviews some of the latest developments in the field.