Determination of the complex refractive index of highly concentrated hemoglobin solutions using transmittance and reflectance measurements

The complex refractive index of highly concentrated hemoglobin solutions as they appear in red blood cells are determined in the wavelength range of 250 to 1100 nm using transmittance and Fresnel reflectance measurements. The determined real parts of the refractive indices are on average 0.02 units higher than the values found in the literature. The wavelength dependence of the measured data in the UV region differs from the calculated data using the Kramers-Kronig relation. (C) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.