Infrared Microspectroscopy Applications - Review

One of the most exciting recent developments in infrared spectroscopy has been the coupling of the spectrometer to an infrared microscope. The combination of the new infrared spectrometer and a microscope was a natural thought of scientists in these fields. This development has been so rewarding and so useful in solving today's chemical problems that infrared microspectroscopy has quickly become a significant subclassification of infrared spectroscopy. Infrared microspectroscopy has a much longer history than the recent enthusiasm would imply, however. The great interest in the use of infrared spectroscopy to solve chemical problems that occurred shortly after World War II spread into the medical and biological fields as well as pharmaceutical and forensic sciences. The objective of this article is to review new developments in applications of FTIR microspectroscopy in analysis, covering the period between 2005 and 2013.