Raman-Based Techniques in Medical Applications for Diagnostic Tasks - A Review

Sep 28, 2026

Raman spectroscopy is a rapidly advancing noninvasive method capable of revealing chemical composition and molecular structure. High chemical specificity drives the development of multiple diagnostic applications based on Raman measurements. This review summarizes Raman-based techniques used in medical diagnostics, covering conventional Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), their potential application areas, and current limitations. Recent studies are assessed for identifying disease-related biomarkers in conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and COVID-19, with discussion of diagnostic power and remaining barriers to clinical translation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Raman

Review Raman-Based Techniques in Medical Applications for Diagnostic Tasks: A Review Yulia Khristoforova , Lyudmila Bratchenko and Ivan Bratchenko * Citation: Khristoforova, Y.; Bratchenko, L.; Bratchenko, I. Raman-Based Techniques in Medical Applications for Diagnostic Tasks: AReview. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 15605. [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)ijms242115605 Academic Editor: Vasile Chi¸s Received: 4 October 2023 Revised: 23 October 2023 Accepted: 24 October 2023 Published: 26 October 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . Department of Laser and Biotechnical Systems, Samara National Research University, 34 Moskovskoye Shosse, Samara 443086, Russia; [khristoforovajulia@gmail.com](khristoforovajulia@gmail.com) (Y.K.) * [Correspondence: bratchenko@ssau.ru](Correspondence: bratchenko@ssau.ru) Abstract: Raman spectroscopy is a widely developing approach for noninvasive analysis that can provide information on chemical composition and molecular structure. High chemical speciﬁcity calls for developing different medical diagnostic applications based on Raman spectroscopy. This review focuses on the Raman-based techniques used in medical diagnostics and provides an overview of such techniques, possible areas of their application, and current limitations. We have reviewed recent studies proposing conventional Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for rapid measuring of speciﬁc biomarkers of such diseases as cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurogenerative disease, and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) . As a result, we have discovered several most promising Raman-based applications to identify affected persons by detecting some signiﬁcant spectral features. We have analyzed these approaches in terms of their potentially diagnostic power and highlighted the remaining challenges and limitations preventing their translation into clinical settings. Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS); SERS-based immunoassays; chemometrics; biomarkers; spectral markers; diagnostics 1. Introduction In the last few years, the use of Raman spectroscopy has been widely used for analyzing the chemical composition of a sample [1–5] . It is well known that a Raman spectrum of a sample is a superposition of the signals caused by the contribution of the active molecules of the components presented in the tested sample. Changes in the quantitative and qualitative composition of a sample lead to changes in the Raman peak intensities, shapes, and locations that are typical for the sample. In particular, the intensity of the Raman peak is proportional to the concentration of the molecule presented in the tested sample. Therefore, analysis of the encoded information-rich spectra of the sample allows for extracting biological information on its relative chemical composition. These advantages of the Raman spectroscopy cover a wide range of application tasks when changes in the tested sample composition are related to disease development [1,2,6] . Numerous studies demonstrate signiﬁcant advances in this area, particularly in regard to the analysis of the Raman spectral signatures that tend to change in a pathological state in contrast to the normal state of the body [7,8] . For example, Raman spectroscopy has been used to differentiate cancerous breast [9–12], prostate [13–15], lung [16,17], skin [18,19], cervical [20,21], colorectal [22,23], and other abnormal tissues. In addition, malignant tissues can be distinguished from benign ones [18,24], or different types of cancer can beclassiﬁed [25] . Similar to cance

FAQs

What makes Raman spectroscopy suitable for medical diagnostic tasks?

Raman spectroscopy provides information about chemical composition and molecular structure through characteristic spectral signatures. Its high chemical specificity supports detecting disease-related changes.

What Raman-based approaches are covered in the review?

The review focuses on conventional Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). It also discusses related methods for detecting specific biomarkers.

Which diseases and biomarker settings are discussed?

The review evaluates Raman-based detection for biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and COVID-19. It also considers liquid-biopsy style samples such as blood and saliva.

Sep 28, 2026

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