Preliminary results of IR spectroscopic characterization of cholesterol

The authors propose the use of skin over the bony prominences of the hands as a site for infrared (IR) exposure to measure blood cholesterol. Cholesterol, when exposed to IR radiation, generates an absorption spectrum Characteristic of its molecular composition. Aqueous solution of bovine cholesterol, (Sigma Chemicals) with 100mg% and 200mg% of concentration was exposed to laser using attenuated total reflection (ATR) in a Mattson FTIR spectrometer. Background data were collected by scanning air at 32 scans/sample. Following this, the sample solution was placed in the ATR prism and scanned 500 times across the sample. The background was subtracted from the sample data and an FFT was performed. The absorption spectra were thus obtained and plotted on an HP plotter. Preliminary experiments show that a unique absorbance spectrum for cholesterol exists in aqueous solutions. The authors also demonstrate the existence of absorption spectra in the blood.<>