Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Microspectroscopy of Immature, Mature and Degenerated Articular Cartilage

Osteoarthritis is a common joint disease characterized by the progressive degeneration of the articular cartilage. In this chapter, the application of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy for the determination of spatial composition of main structural components of articular cartilage, i.e. collagen and proteoglycans, is presented. The previous results from FTIR microspectroscopic analyses of immature, mature and degenerated articular cartilage are briefly reviewed. Specifically, the analysis methods currently used in the literature for extracting the information from the infrared absorption spectrum of articular cartilage are introduced: 1) simple calculations of areas under the absorption spectrum at different wavenumber bands, and 2) more complicated multivariate spectral analysis techniques. The pros and cons of present spectral analysis techniques are discussed.