Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS): an overview of recent progress and future potential for biomedical applications

Abstract

The recent progress made in developing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has transformed LIBS from an elemental analysis technique to one that can be applied for the reagentless analysis of molecularly complex biological materials or clinical specimens. Rapid advances in the LIBS technology have spawned a growing number of recently published articles in peer-reviewed journals which have consistently demonstrated the capability of LIBS to rapidly detect, biochemically characterize and analyse, and/or accurately identify various biological, biomedical or clinical samples. These analyses are inherently real-time, require no sample preparation, and offer high sensitivity and specificity. This overview of the biomedical applications of LIBS is meant to summarize the research that has been performed to date, as well as to suggest to health care providers several possible specific future applications which, if successfully implemented, would be significantly beneficial to humankind.

Keywords::

• Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
• Medical diagnostics
• Point-of-care
• Rapid pathogen identification
• Infectious diseases

Acknowledgements

One of us (SJR) would like to acknowledge funding from both Wayne State University and the University of Windsor and the important bacteriological contributions of Dr Choong-Min Kang (WSU, Department of Biological Sciences) and Dr Robert Mitchell (WSU/Detroit Medical Center University Laboratories).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.