Rayleigh spectroscopy of biological objects

The physical principles of Rayleigh spectroscopy are presented and methods of investigating dynamic characteristics of a wide range of biological microobjects based on recording Rayleigh scattering of laser radiation are described. Monodyne and heterodyne spectrometers and a Doppler anenometer are described and some features of their application in biology and biophysics are given. Some of the most interesting work in this field is reviewed. An experiment carried out by the authors to study intracellular mobility is described.