Mid-infrared Spectroscopy Sampling Techniques and Practices

As with the rest of this chapter, we will only consider here those sampling techniques and practices that are relevant to the studies contained within this book. 

The methods of presenting samples such as a tissue or isolated single cell for study in an FT-IR microscope have to date been predominantly confined to transmission and, the so-called, transflection sampling techniques. The latter is actually a reflection-absorption technique vide infra). Of increasing recent interest is use of the so-called ATR sampling technique for the analysis of tissue samples. ATR is an abbreviation for attenuated total reflection and is an internal reflection spectroscopy technique. On the horizon are perhaps nearfield techniques. Each of these will now be considered in turn. 

7 Calculated performance comparison between a synchrotron radiation (1 A) source and a thermal source (a) power (b) brightness. Reproduced from reference [6] with permission of John Wiley Sons Ltd., Chichester (S) 2002. 

---