September 21, 2020

Tobias Konz of Nestlé Research, Lausanne, Switzerland and various associates have developed and validated what they describe as a reliable, robust, and easy-to-implement quantitative method for multielemental analysis of low-volume samples. The ICP-MS-based method comprises the analysis of 20 elements (Mg, P, S, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, I, Cs, and Ba) in 10 μL of serum and 12 elements (Mg, S, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn Se, Br, Rb, Mo, and Cs) in less than 250,000 cells, and involved the analysis of elemental profiles of serum and sorted immune T cells derived from naıv̈e and tumor-bearing mice. The results indicate a tumor systemic effect on the elemental profiles of both serum and T cells. Konz and his colleagues believe their approach highlights promising applications of multielemental analysis in precious samples such as rare cell populations or limited volumes of biofluids that could provide a deeper understanding of the essential role of elements as cofactors in biological and pathological processes. Konz spoke to us about this work.

September 10, 2020

Spectroscopy Magazine is pleased to announce the addition of seven new members to its editorial advisory board.

September 07, 2020

Once again, the Eastern Analytical Symposium takes the spotlight November 16–19, providing analysts with the latest developments in areas ranging from biopharmaceutical analysis to materials characterization, from quality assessment to green analysis, and from environmental contaminant determination to antibody analysis, to name a few of the many areas covered.

September 01, 2020

August 07, 2020

By combining single-molecule biophysics and nanomaterial-polymer science, Markita Landry of the University of California, Berkeley has developed new tools for understanding biological systems. Using a combination of nanoparticles, imaging, and spectroscopy, her work has led to discovery of the aspects of neuromodulation in the brain, and for the delivery of genetic materials into plants for crop biotechnology.

August 01, 2020

Here we conduct an evaluation of significant operational parameters of IR microscopy for accurately determining the size of microplastics, with the overarching goal of outlining performance parameters that will help in the standardization of microplastics analysis.

August 01, 2020

Reliable quantitative FT-IR measurements require that the pathlength be known to within 1%. Pathlength estimations based on nominal spacer thickness are not reliable and require that the actual pathlength be measured for accurate data. We demonstrate how.

August 01, 2020

SERS offers many advantages. However, there are several issues to be aware of when trying to use SERS signals in analytical applications.

August 01, 2020

Measurements of the optical proper ties of a ceramic material, Z93, which is in current use on the International Space Station (ISS), reveal why this material is successful for thermal control in the ISS implementation, and also point to potential future material design improvements.

August 01, 2020

Spectroscopic ellipsometry, correlated with UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, is used to determine the optical constants of thin films, such as in GexSb40-xSe60 chalcogenide glass.