Raman spectroscopy of lipids: a review

Raman spectra of 35 lipids are presented and analyzed in this work. Selected compounds, i.e. saturated/unsaturated fatty acids, triacylglycerols, cholesterol, cholesteryl esters and phospholipids, were chosen to review key lipids involved in cardiovascular disease development. Differences in Raman signatures both between diverse groups of lipids as well as various members of the same family are investigated in detail in order to elucidate marker features enabling detection and discrimination of lipids in complex samples, particularly of biological origin. This work complements our previous review on important biomolecules, i.e. proteins, and presents a comprehensive database of Raman spectra of naturally occurring lipids. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.