Applications of infrared spectroscopy to medical biology.

This short review presents the great power of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in the field of medicinal biology. New spectrometers as well as new accessories for sampling have significantly contributed to extend the application fields of the infrared techniques. During the past few years, it has been pointed out that FT-IR spectroscopy can be used to identify bacteria, to characterize neoplasic changes from biopsies, to recognize the various forms of arthritis by analysis of synovial fluid. This paper intends also to illustrate two clinical chemistry applications: the determination of the fecal lipids by FT-IR spectroscopy with an attenuated total reflectance accessory (ATR) and the measurement of the carbone monoxide in blood.