An in-situ photocatalysis monitoring system based on surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. The monitoring system may include a Raman excitation light source, a laser coupling lens, a narrow band filter, a total reflection mirror, a dichroic mirror, a focusing coupling lens, a SERS optical fiber probe, a liquid phase photocatalysis reactor, a photocatalytic light source, a Raman collection lens, and a spectrometer. A first furcation part and a second furcation part each extend from one end of a common detection part of the SERS optical fiber probe; an extending end of the first furcation part is coupled with the focusing coupling lens; an extending end of the second furcation part is coupled with the photocatalytic light source; and the other end of the common detection part is arranged inside the liquid phase photocatalysis reactor. Raman excitation light and photocatalytic light may be transmitted on a common channel.

A near-field scanning probe includes: a measurement probe that relatively scans a test sample; an excitation light irradiation system; a near-field light generation system that generates near-field light in a region including the measurement probe in response to irradiation with excitation light from the excitation light irradiation system; and a scattered light detection system that detects Rayleigh scattering and Ramen scattered light of the near-field light from the sample, generated between the measurement probe and the sample, and the near-field scanning probe is characterized in that the near-field light generation system includes a cantilever with a chip coated with a noble metal, and a tip of the chip is provided with a thin wire group including a plurality of carbon nanowires with a noble metal provided at ends thereof.

An apparatus for measuring a Raman spectrum may include a processor configured to adjust a Raman probe parameter, set a Raman probe with the Raman probe parameter, obtain a first Raman spectrum of the sample at a first time point and a second Raman spectrum of the sample at a second time point, obtain a difference spectrum between the first Raman spectrum and the second Raman spectrum, determine a degree of similarity between the difference spectrum and an analyte Raman spectrum, determine an optimal Raman probe parameter based on the degree of similarity, and obtain a Raman spectrum of the sample for measuring bio-information by setting the Raman probe with the optimal Raman probe parameter.

A hand-held microfluidic testing device is provided that includes a housing having a cartridge receiving port, a cartridge for input to the cartridge receiving port having a sample input and a channel, where the channel includes a mixture of Raman-scattering nanoparticles and a calibration solution, where the calibration solution includes chemical compounds capable of interacting with a sample under test input to the cartridge and the Raman-scattering nanoparticles, and an optical detection system in the housing, where the optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminated electric field, where the illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with the Raman-scattering nanoparticles and the calibration solution to analyze the sample under test input to the cartridge.

The invention is an iterative method for acquiring a spectrum of a particle that is subjected to an illumination. It may in particular be a Raman spectrum. The method includes successively acquiring spectra that are what are called elementary spectra. These elementary spectra are combined to form a combined spectrum, which may be obtained by summing said elementary spectra. With each elementary spectrum is associated an acceptance criterion that is representative of a variation between said elementary spectrum and the elementary spectra acquired beforehand. Depending on this acceptance criterion, the elementary spectrum is either rejected, or accepted, in which case it is added to the combined spectrum. The invention makes it possible to guard against a degradation of the particle under the effect of an excessive exposure to said illumination.

A system and method for imaging a sample using Raman spectrometry. Optical fibers having opposite first ends and second ends are arranged with the first ends and second ends in respective two-dimensional arrays. The two-dimensional arrays maintain relative positions of the optical fibers to one another from the first ends to the second ends in a way that the first end of each optical fibers of the bundle can simultaneously collect a corresponding Raman signal portion scattered from specific spatial coordinates of the area of the sample. The so-collected Raman signal portions are propagated towards the corresponding second end, from which are outputted and detected simultaneously using an array of detectors.

A system and method for determining the pH of tissue in vivo. A Raman spectrometer is used to collect Raman spectra from the target tissue. The Raman spectra are baseline subtracted and assessed to determine the concentration of HPO.sub.4.sup.2 and H.sub.2PO.sub.4.sup.1 for the purposes of calculating the pH. The approach was validate in vitro using PBS solutions of known pH. The approach was confirmed in vivo using rat and swine models by probing the immediate vicinity of a contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) in the first minutes and hours after injury. Using a dynamic analysis and the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, the average of (N=12) noninvasive Raman-based pH measurements of CSF was 7.0730.156 and at >95% confidence there is no statistically significant difference between the Raman-based and the physically sampled results.

A micro-fluidic system comprising means for optically trapping a particle and a Raman excitation source for causing Raman scatter from the particle whilst it is in the optical trap.

A hand-held microfluidic testing device is provided that includes a housing having a cartridge receiving port, a cartridge for input to the cartridge receiving port having a sample input and a channel, where the channel includes a mixture of Raman-scattering nanoparticles and a calibration solution, where the calibration solution includes chemical compounds capable of interacting with a sample under test input to the cartridge and the Raman-scattering nanoparticles, and an optical detection system in the housing, where the optical detection system is capable of providing an illuminated electric field, where the illuminating electric field is capable of being used for Raman spectroscopy with the Raman-scattering nanoparticles and the calibration solution to analyze the sample under test input to the cartridge.

The invention relates to a device (1) for detecting and/or evaluating a pathological condition comprising a Raman spectroscopy system (10) and an electronic evaluation device (20), which is configured to perform a detection and/or evaluation of the pathological condition in accordance with an evaluation of at least one Raman spectrum detected in stroma.