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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Characterization of Biological Absorption Spectra Spanning the Visible to the Short-Wave Infrared
Published on: January 10, 2025
Development of tip-enhanced optical spectroscopy for biological applications: a review
Alistair P D Elfick1, Andrew R Downes, Rabah Mouras
1Centre for Biomedical Engineering, The School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK. Alistair.Elfick@ed.ac.uk
Abstract:
Tip-enhanced optical spectroscopy is an approach that holds a good deal of promise for the nanoscale characterisation of matter. Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) has been demonstrated on a variety of samples: inorganic, organic and biological. Imaging using TERS has been shown for carbon nanotubes due to their high scattering efficiency. There are a number of compelling motivations to consider alternative approaches for biological samples; most importantly, the potential for heat damage of biomolecules and long acquisition times. These issues may be addressed through the development of tip-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy.
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