Optical properties of fat emulsions

We present measurements of the optical properties of six different fat emulsions from three different brands, Clinoleic, Lipovenoes and Intralipid, with fat concentrations from 10% to 30%. The scattering coefficient, the reduced scattering coefficent, and the phase function of each sample are measured for wavelengths between 350 nm and 900 nm. A method for the calculation of the particle size distribution of these fat emulsions is introduced. With the particle size distribution the optical properties of the fat emulsions are obtained with Mie theory. Simple equations for the calculation of the absorption coefficient, the scattering coefficient, the reduced scattering coefficient, the g factor, and the phase function of all measured samples are presented. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.