ABSTRACT
Raman spectroscopy has proved to be a useful analytical tool in the investigation of the structure of biological materials. This chapter considers the historical background and various aspects of the theory of Raman spectroscopy. The nature of the interaction depends on the wavelength or frequency of the radiation, so that regions of the electromagnetic spectrum have become associated with various types of spectroscopy. Vibrational spectroscopy is somewhat unusual in that it involves two different effects, the absorption of radiation in the infrared region of the spectrum and the inelastic scattering of light, usually in the visible. The Raman spectra of monosaccharides and polysaccharides are much more complicated and difficult to interpret than proteins. This is because of the large number of atoms in the repeat unit, and because there is not an entity such as the amide group which can be separately identified and used for structural identification.
