Biomedical applications of vibrational spectroscopy: Oral cancer diagnostics

Abstract

Vibrational spectroscopy, based on either infrared absorption or Raman scattering, has attracted increasing attention for biomedical applications. Proof of concept explorations for diagnosis of oral potentially malignant disorders and cancer are reviewed, and recent advances critically appraised. Specific examples of applications of Raman microspectroscopy for analysis of histological, cytological and saliva samples are presented for illustrative purposes, and the future prospects, ultimately for routine, chairside in vivo screening are discussed.

Keywords: Infrared spectroscopy; Oral cancer; Oral pre-cancer; Potentially malignant lesions disease diagnostics; Premalignant lesions; Raman spectroscopy; Vibrational spectroscopy.