Quantitative Raman spectrometry: The accurate determination of analytes in solution phase of turbid media

• A novel model is proposed to model the effects of scatterers on Raman signals.
• It can realize accurate quantitative determination of analytes in turbid media.
• It imposes no additional requirements on Raman measurements.
• It has great potential in quantitative Raman spectroscopic analysis of turbid media.

The presence of scatterers in turbid media could severely distort the Raman measurements and thereby prevent accurate determination of analytes in turbid media. To address this issue, in this contribution, an advanced model, multiplicative effects model (MEM), has been derived to explicitly model the effects of scatterers on Raman measurements. Preliminary experimental results for a proof of concept system with varying turbidity levels demonstrated that MEM could effectively account for the detrimental multiplicative effects of scatterers and ultimately achieved accurate quantitative analysis of analyte of interest in turbid media with a relative prediction error of about 4.3%. The enhanced levels of accuracy obtained with MEM open up an avenue for prospective prediction studies in turbid media such as biological tissues by Raman spectrometry.