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                                                                   EXHIBIT 99.1


For Immediate Release                              Contacts: Bill Wells - Media
February 23, 2000                             Thomas H. Muller, Jr. - Financial
                                                                 (770) 242-8723


              SPECTRX, INC. ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION PRIVATE PLACEMENT

         NORCROSS, GA -- SpectRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRX) today announced the
completion of a private placement of 400,000 shares of the company's common
stock. The stock was sold for $12.50 per share resulting in gross proceeds to
the company of $5 million. The funding was provided by a small group of private
investors. The purchasers were given registration rights under the company's
existing registration rights agreement. The funds will be used to support the
development of a non-invasive cervical cancer detection device and other
general corporate purposes.

         SpectRx, Inc. is a leading biophotonics company that is focused on the
development and manufacture of painless and bloodless alternatives to medical
diagnostic and monitoring procedures. Biophotonics is the technology of using
light and other forms of energy to diagnose and monitor disease. SpectRx is the
developer of the BiliChekTM the world's first commercially available painless,
bloodless, non-invasive infant jaundice monitor. SpectRx is developing a
continuous glucose monitor with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), a non-invasive
device that rapidly detects a previously unmeasured sign of diabetes with Roche
Diagnostics, and non-invasive cervical and skin cancer detection products with
Welch Allyn. For more information, visit the SpectRx web site at
www.spectrx.com.

Certain matters discussed in this announcement contain forward-looking
statements that involve material risks to, and uncertainties in the company's
business which may cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated by the statements made herein. The matters discussed herein should
be viewed together with the Risk Factors in the Company's 10K for the year
ending December 31, 1998 on file with the SEC.