Spectral imaging at the microscale and beyond

Abstract

Here we give context to the special issue "Spectral Imaging at the Microscale and Beyond" in Sensors. We start with an introduction and motivation for the need for spectral imaging and then present important definitions and background concepts. Following this, we review new developments and applications in environmental monitoring, biomaterials, microfluidics, nanomaterials, healthcare, agriculture and food science, with a special focus on the articles published in the special issue. Some concluding remarks put the presented developments in context vis-à-vis the future of spectral imaging. © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.