Thermal lens spectrometry in biochemical analysis.

The photothermal spectroscopic techniques, with special emphasis on the thermal lens spectrometry (TLS), are introduced to the non-specialist in laser spectroscopy. The following topics are treated on an elementary basis: fundamentals and analytical characteristics, instrumentation, selectivity and multi-wavelength capability, the models describing the signal-concentration relationship, the sensitivity, background noise and limits of detection, the influence of light scattering and flow. Applications related to the fields of clinical and biochemical analysis and organic pollution are given. The thermal lens circular dichroism and the infrared TLS are also briefly outlined.