Patent ID: 6947848

Claim:
A system for identifying an unknown compound comprising: (a) providing a spectrometer capable of generating an absorption spectrum; (b) providing a computer capable of receiving absorption spectrum data from the spectrometer and calculating values from the data using algorithms provided to the computer; (c) obtaining an absorption spectrum of the compound; (d) obtaining an absorbance value A n (ν n ) wherein A n is the absorption value at a wavenumber ν n ; (e) generating an array of values A′ n (ν′ n ) wherein A′ n (ν′ n )=A n (ν n )−A″ where A″ is a modified absorbance value of A n (ν n ); (f) generating an array of values I n (ν n ) by integrating A′ n (ν′ n ) over a region of the spectrum; (g) normalizing the array of values I n (ν n ) to obtain an array of values I′ n (ν′ n ); and (h) comparing the values I′ n (ν′ n ) with values I′ n std (ν′ n ) obtain for a known compound.