The rapid identification for drugs-of-abuse in airports is of critical importance. In this study we demonstrate the viability of Raman spectroscopy for the rapid identification of illicit substances in their containers in an airport environment.Raman spectra of drugs-of-abuse in situ were collected using portable Raman spectrometers; this technique offers distinct advantages to government agencies, first responders and forensic scientists working in the security field. We have demonstrated that the spectrometers are able to collect the spectra of suspect powders, including cocaine HCl and d-amphetamine sulphate with unknown constituents rapidly and with a high degree of discrimination.

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Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a very effective approach for the detection of microorganisms colonising hostile environments on Earth. The ExoMars rover, due for launch in 2018, will carry a Raman laser spectrometer to analyse samples of the martian subsurface collected by the probe's 2-m drill in a search for similar biosignatures. The martian surface is unprotected from the flux of cosmic rays, an ionising radiation field that will degrade organic molecules and so diminish and distort the detectable Raman signature of potential martian microbial life. This study employs Raman spectroscopy to analyse samples of two model organisms, the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and the extremely radiation resistant polyextremophile Deinococcus radiodurans, that have been exposed to increasing doses of ionising radiation. The three most prominent peaks in the Raman spectra are from cellular carotenoids: deinoxanthin in D. radiodurans and β-carotene in Synechocystis. The degradative effect of ionising radiation is clearly seen, with significant diminishment of carotenoid spectral peak heights after 15 kGy and complete erasure of Raman biosignatures by 150 kGy of ionising radiation. The Raman signal of carotenoid in D. radiodurans diminishes more rapidly than that of Synechocystis, believed to be due to deinoxanthin acting as a superior scavenger of radiolytically produced reactive oxygen species, and so being destroyed more quickly than the less efficient antioxidant β-carotene. This study highlights the necessity for further experimental work on the manner and rate of degradation of Raman biosignatures by ionising radiation, as this is of prime importance for the successful detection of microbial life in the martian near subsurface.

Recently, cocaine has been concealed by dissolving it in alcohol and then transporting it in solution through ports and airports. At the present time it is very difficult to detect cocaine in this form in these environments. However, it has been shown that Raman spectroscopy can successfully detect the presence of these drugs without removing specimens from their containers. Using two portable 785 nm instruments and a 1064 nm laboratory-based instrument, several common containers used in smuggling were analyzed with varying concentrations of cocaine in ethanol solutions. The presence of cocaine is detectable to about 6% w/v in most containers. Green glass presents a problem at 785 nm due to fluorescence but by switching to 1064 nm this can be removed. To apply this technique to real samples as met within law enforcement scenarios, cocaine was dissolved in a selection of dark and white rums including Lamb's Navy Rum  , Brugal Añejo  , Bacardi  and Captain Morgan  ; cocaine was detected in all these rum solutions.

Ginseng is a widely used medicinal product that grows mainly in Korea, China and America. American ginseng is classified as an endangered species, and so the import and export of this type of ginseng is illegal in certain countries. Due to this restriction it is becoming increasingly important to be able to distinguish between different types of ginseng. FT-Raman spectroscopy has the ability to discriminate between ginseng specimens according to the country of origin and the effects of processing on the ginseng material. The ginsenoside content of ginseng differs in both conformation and concentration depending on the source of the ginseng, which means that ginseng grown in different countries should express unique spectral features. The presence or absence of these features, therefore, could indicate the geographical origin of the sample. Several spectral features were identified for a range of ginsengs, such as a peak at 980 cm(-1) that was only found in Chinese ginseng, and the different wavenumber positions of characteristic ginseng bands near 1600 cm(-1). This indicates that Raman spectroscopy can be used to pinpoint the origin of an unknown ginseng sample and that it would provide a rapid nondestructive analytical technique for formally discriminating between restricted and permitted imports.