Fig. 2. Combining structure and chemistry.

Optical microscopy and spectroscopy detect different scales of organization and hence are complementary to visualize different phases of development and disease. Optical microscopy even with the super-resolution cannot go beyond 1 nm. Microspectroscopy detects chemical changes occurring at levels of functional groups with the spatial distribution. However, with thousands of chemical changes occurring, it is difficult to use spectroscopy alone, especially at early onset, until it is correlated with manifested structural changes occurring at micron to nano scales. This can help characterize the early onset of disease as well as understand the basis of several physiological and pathological events.