The breakthrough of Raman, mid - infrared and near - infrared spectroscopy as practical imaging tools with rational measurement and evaluation times has only taken place in recent years, although Raman and infrared spectroscopy are well - established analytical techniques for research, quality assurance and process control since many decades. The driving force behind this technology jump was on the one hand the increasing demand for imaging techniques with high chemical selectivity and specifi city and on the other hand the commercial availability of suitable high - performance multi - channel detectors and the development of efficient evaluation and representation software. Thus, today not only the frequently asked questions about the qualitative and quantitative composition of a sample ( ‘ what ’ and ‘ how much ’ ) can be answered, but imaging investigations now also provide information as to ‘ where ’ different chemical species are located and how they are distributed among a heterogeneous sample. This book is devoted to illustrate the new insights which can be achieved and the multiplicity of applications which can be tackled in a variety of fi elds with this new technology.
Basically, the book can be subdivided into three parts. In the first part the fundamentals of the instrumentation for infrared and Raman imaging and mapping and an overview on the chemometric tools for image analysis are covered in two introductory chapters. The second part comprises the chapters 3 – 9 and describes a wide variety of applications ranging from biomedical via food and agriculture to polymers and pharmaceuticals. Some historical insights are given as well. In the third part the chapters 10 – 15 cover special methodical developments and their utility in specifi c fields.
We would like to thank all authors for their efforts and commitments to the timely publication of this volume being completely aware that writing a chapter for a book is an activity that is taken on in addition to one ’ s daily work. We would also like to acknowledge the superb job and support by WILEY - VCH in the final composition and edition of the book. Our greatest debt of gratitude goes to our wives for their patience and encouragement.