Direct measurement of Raman spectra of intact lens in a whole eyeball.

The Raman spectrum of an intact rabbit and rat lens was measured intraocularly without taking it out of a whole eyeball. The Raman spectrum was identical to that of an excised lens. There was no evidence for Raman bands from cornea, aqueous humor, or other ocular tissue in the spectrum of intact lens in the eyeball. The result is an important step toward the clinical application of Raman spectroscopy in the field of cataract research.