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Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the biological applications of Raman spectroscopy. Its areas of application are varied, some of them being protein conformation, nucleic acid structure, cornea aging, toxic-metal linking to metalloproteins or nucleic acids, and heme structures. The chapter also discusses the Raman microanalysis applied to bioaccumulations. The final product of cellular metabolic activity is often concentrated into special structures known as bioaccumulations. They are stored inside the cell or rejected outside, in the extracellular compartment. In plant cells they are often vacuolar, whereas three main forms can be distinguished in animal cells: lysosomes, spherocrystals, and chitin. Only analyses performed at the cellular scale, for example, analytical microscopic methods such as secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Raman spectroscopy, lead to the identification of the bioaccumulation mechanism, and thus clearly distinguish between natural processes and detoxification reactions. The spherocrystals are ideally suited to Raman microscopic studies. As their size is on the μm scale, the significant concentration of these substances in the layers and their resistance under laser illumination are favorable parameters. |
