Fourier Transform Vibrational Spectroscopic Analysis of Human Cerebral Tissue

Fourier transform (FT) IR and FT-Raman spectra of human brain tissue are presented. The data are discussed in terms of the type of tissue and of structural variations resulting from tissue preparation. The spectra show that as a result of standard paraffination procedures, not only do the various solvents employed remove both the nucleic acid and lipid components, but they also induce conformational changes in the protein constituents. The implications of the solvent effects on the tissues is discussed with respect to the spectral diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Marker bands show that the structural evolutions can be followed well by both FT-IR and FT-Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, the FT-Raman technique makes it possible to obtain spectra of delicate biological elements, avoiding the problems of both fluorescence and laser degradation of the tissue.