Vibrational spectroscopic analysis and quantification of proteins in human blood plasma and serum

Alterations in biomolecular components in human blood are commonly used as an indication of disease states, namely differences in protein concentration. Unfortunately, conventional test kits currently employed in hospitals suffer from long time delays, meaning patients often have to wait anxiously for their test results. Vibrational spectroscopic techniques, such as infrared and Raman, have the ability to replace current practices, as they are label-free, cost-effective, easy to operate, and require minimal sample preparation. The sensitivity to subtle changes in biochemical composition makes them ideal diagnostic tools, and recent advances in technology and data analytics means bodily fluids can be analyzed rapidly and noninvasively to detect disease-related fluctuations in protein concentration. In this chapter, we outline the current clinical procedures for blood tests, examine the capability of biomedical vibrational spectroscopy for disease diagnostics and monitoring, and discuss the potentiality for the techniques to be successfully translated into the clinic.