EDITORIAL
Analysis in the Service of Medicine This issue of ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY features Part II of an INSTRUMENTATION article by Svanberg, Svanberg, and co-workers detailing the applications of laser fluorescence in medical diagnostics and therapy. In addition to being an excellent review of an exciting new field, this work serves as an example of the successful melding of analytical science and medicine. In Part I (December 15, 1989 issue) the standard medical applications of laser technology were introduced in surgical practice and in laboratory atomic and molecular analysis. The role of hematoporphyrin as a fluorescence tag for tumor diagnosis and photodynamic therapy was also outlined. The use of photochemistry to destroy cancerous cells was particularly fascinating. By combining fluorescence analysis with ablation, the laser system becomes a "smart" scalpel. In Part II the broader potential for tumor and atherosclerosis diagnosis is explored, and the unique tool of laser fluorescence imaging is discussed. This work demonstrates the importance of practical problem solving when biomedical applications are involved. Far too often a technique is heralded as having great utility in biology and medicine before practical applications are explored. In the quest for funding, publi-
city, and prestige, methods are labeled significant to the life sciences before a single biological analysis is performed, let alone a problem solved. The need for advanced methods of analysis in systems critical to biology and medicine cannot be denied. This need can only be met if the analytical chemistry community maintains strong ties to the biologists and physicians who target the problems. It has always been our role as analytical chemists to provide answers to other scientists' most pressing questions. This can't be done in a vacuum; it requires constant communication and cooperation. The importance of collaborative research efforts in this regard cannot be overemphasized. The potential significance of modern analytical chemistry to the biomedical community is enormous. We must always, however, provide practical solutions to real-world problems, regardless of the impressive complexity or power of a technique. The current tools of modern analysis and those still to be developed will allow biologists and physicians to confront and solve problems previously considered unattainable.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 62, NO. 1, JANUARY 1, 1990 · 13 A
