Several of the authors of this collection of papers presented at the international meeting on the mechanical behaviour of materials have been working continuously in that field for several decades. In contrast, in this instance we have an example of an author who, having some experience in nanoindentation and surface - mechanical research, now pursues interdisciplinary studies of nanoscale properties in a different field. This paper discusses how a near-field version of infrared microspectroscopy, together with multivariate data analysis points a way towards a new method for identifying biomarkers for use in biomedical evaluation procedures. We also outline some details of a non-statistical method of classification, employing fuzzy logic.