Fluorescence Rejection by Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy at Multiple Wavelengths for the Investigation of Biological Samples

Shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) was applied for an effective fluorescence removal in the Raman spectra of meat, fat, connective tissue, and bone from pork and beef. As excitation light sources, microsystem diode lasers emitting at 783 nm, 671 nm, and 488 nm each incorporating two slightly shifted excitation wavelengths with a spectral difference of about 10 cm−1 necessary for SERDS operation were used. The moderate fluorescence interference for 783 nm excitation as well as the increased background level at 671 nm was efficiently rejected using SERDS resulting in a straight horizontal baseline. This allows for identification of all characteristic Raman signals including weak bands which are clearly visible and overlapping signals that are resolved in the SERDS spectra. At 488 nm excitation, the spectra contain an overwhelming fluorescence interference masking nearly all Raman signals of the probed tissue samples. However, the essentially background-free SERDS spectra enable determining the majority of characteristic Raman bands of the samples under investigation. Furthermore, 488 nm excitation reveals prominent carotenoid signals enhanced due to resonance Raman scattering which are present in the beef samples but absent in pork tissue enabling a rapid meat species differentiation.