The use of polarized light for the measurement of glucose concentration and the study of multiple scattering in turbid chiral media

Summary form only given. One would think that polarized light launched into a multiple scattering sample would escape completely depolarized. This, however, is not so-depending on the scattering properties of the sample, the initial polarization state, and source-detector geometry, the diffusely remitted light may exhibit a significant surviving polarization fraction. This polarization data may reveal useful optical, compositional and spatial information about the densely scattering sample. The behavior of light polarization in a multiple scattering model system composed of l-/spl mu/m-diam polystyrene microspheres in water is studied in the presence of dissolved glucose. This is because an important influence on polarized light propagation and scattering is the presence and amount of optically active (chiral) molecules in the turbid sample, for example glucose.