STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS OF TERAHERTZ SPECTROSCOPY

Journal of Molecular Structure

Volume 1006, Issues 1-3, 14 December 2011, Pages 66-76 STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS OF TERAHERTZ SPECTROSCOPY

doi:10.1016/j.molstruc.2011.05.048 | How to Cite or Link Using DOI

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Terahertz spectroscopy: Its future role in medical diagnoses Edward Philip John Parrott a, Yiwen Sun a, 1, Emma Pickwell-MacPherson b, ,

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a     Electronic Engineering Department, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong

b     Electronic & Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong

Available online 13 June 2011.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, terahertz radiation has received a lot of interest due to advances in emission and detection technologies in the late 1980s and early 1990s which allowed the construction of coherent source/detection regimes. This paper focuses on reviewing the use of terahertz radiation in the investigation and understanding of biological systems and medical diagnosis. In particular, research on terahertz spectroscopy of biomolecules, from amino acids to proteins is presented, and examples of potential medical applications are discussed.

Highlights

► Principles of terahertz spectroscopy. ► Properties of terahertz light. ► Time and frequency domain analysis of terahertz data. ► Molecular and medical terahertz spectroscopy.

Keywords: Terahertz imaging; Terahertz spectroscopy; Protein spectroscopy; Biomedical; Intermolecular interactions; Cancer

Article Outline

1. Introduction to terahertz radiation

1.1. Generation and detection of broadband pulses of terahertz radiation 1.2. Time-domain analysis 1.3. Frequency-domain analysis 1.4. Introduction to intermolecular interactions 2. Molecular spectroscopy 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Amino acids and peptides 2.3. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) 2.4. Proteins 3. Medical spectroscopy 3.1. Understanding contrast 3.2. Enhancing contrast 3.3. Other medical applications 4. Summary Acknowledgments References

Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 2358 5034.

1Present address: Medical School, Shenzhen University, Guangdong, 518060, People’s Republic of China.