Chemical concentration measurement in blood serum and urine samples using liquid-core optical fiber Raman spectroscopy

We report measurements of chemical concentrations in clinical blood serum and urine samples using liquid-core optical fiber (LCOF) Raman spectroscopy to increase the collected signal strength. Both Raman and absorption spectra were acquired in the near-infrared region using the LCOF geometry. Spectra of 71 blood serum and 61 urine samples were regressed via partial least squares against reference analyzer values. Significant correlation was found between predicted and reference concentrations for 13 chemicals. Using absorption data to normalize the LCOF enhancement made the results more accurate. The experimental geometry is well suited for high-volume and automated chemical analysis of clear biofluids. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.