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Resonance Raman Scattering of Laser Radiation by Vibrational Modes of Carotenoid Pigment Molecules in Intact Plant Tissues

Abstract

WE report here the detection of resonance Raman (RR)1–11 scattering of laser radiation from vibrational modes in the molecules of the carotenoid pigments12–14 lycopene and β-carotene in intact plant samples (Figs. 1a and b). Resonance enhancement is obtained in the Raman spectra of pigments excited at wavelengths in the region of electronic absorption. The effect is manifest in a conspicuous gain in the scattering efficiency from some of the vibrational modes of the pigment. The scattered light becomes sufficiently intense to overcome the increased absorption losses of both the exciting and the scattered radiation. In this study we have demonstrated this effect in heterogeneous (tissue) samples, in which the pigment is just one constituent.

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GILL, D., KILPONEN, R. & RIMAI, L. Resonance Raman Scattering of Laser Radiation by Vibrational Modes of Carotenoid Pigment Molecules in Intact Plant Tissues. Nature 227, 743–744 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227743a0

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