Spectroscopy-11-01-2007

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Although overshadowed by other technologies, demand for fluorescence microscopy is already strong and is growing rapidly. The technology is proving to be very useful for specific life science applications.

Using information provided by guidance documents from outside the spectroscopy laboratory can be very useful when trying to meet the regulations that we must follow.

Data are presented for a pH-adjustable liquid UV-matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) matrix for mass spectrometry analysis. The liquid matrix system possesses high analytical sensitivity within the same order of magnitude as that achievable by the commonly used solid UV-MALDI matrices but with improved spot homogeneity and reproducibility. The pH of the matrix has been adjusted, achieving an on-target pH range of 3.5?8.6, which has allowed for the performance of a tryptic digest within the diluted pH-optimized liquid matrix.

A new method for the early detection of gastric cancer uses a combination of feature extraction based upon continuous wavelets for Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and classification using an artificial neural network trained with a back-propagation algorithm.

Raman microscopy was developed as a tool for microanalysis complementary to the electron microscope, which enabled identification of the elements in a microspot. The first realization for Raman imaging was implemented using a nonconfocal optical method. Subsequently, a confocal scheme was developed, which provided better contrast in the Raman image. A number of successful examples from pathology, pharmaceutical analysis, and geology will be shown.