Modern Raman Spectroscopy at the Center of Biosensing and Medical Diagnosis. An Interview with Jürgen Popp

Modern Raman spectroscopy is at the center of investigations into nanotechnology characterization tools for biosensing and medical diagnosis. Raman studies have included insights and discovery into aging-associated diseases, cancer diagnosis, pathogen detection, and environmental contaminants at nanomolar concentrations. Raman spectroscopy is being used for characterization of atherosclerotic plaque, antibiotic susceptibility testing, high-throughput screening for label-free cellomics, and real-time histology of disease activity by non-linear multimodal imaging. The applications push for Raman has led to both hardware and software advances, including new fiber probe designs and novel data processing techniques for improved signal discrimination and imaging. This interview with Juergen Popp of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, in Jena, Germany, explores the latest developments in Raman spectroscopy for medicine and other research applications.