At Pittcon, Spectroscopy sat down with Christian Huck of the University of Innsbruck to talk about how NIR and imaging spectroscopy are being used in food and bioanalysis, and where this industry is heading in the future.

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) employs localized surface plasmon resonance at the apex of a sharp scanning probe microscopy tip to overcome the diffraction limit inherent in conventional Raman spectroscopy, allowing researchers the ability to access spatial resolutions down to the nanometer scale. This technique has established itself as a powerful tool in nanoscale chemical analysis, delivering previously unachieved spatial resolution with superior molecular sensitivity and chemical specificity.

An effective technique used in the examination of iron atom electronic environments in both biomolecular molecules and whole animal studies, Mössbauer spectroscopy, because of its sensitivity to nuclear hyperfine interactions, yields incredibly accurate data regarding the electronic and magnetic states of nuclei, chemical bonds, and the local electronic environment structure around iron atoms.

Yesterday, at 5:00 pm in Ballroom East, the Wallace H. Coulter Lecture took place, and it was delivered by Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD, who is well-known as a scientist and entrepreneur with an extensive career in regenerative engineering. His lecture highlighted the work he and his team has done in this space.

“Atomic Perspectives,” provides tutorials and updates on new analytical atomic spectroscopy techniques in a broad range of applications, including environmental analysis, food and beverage analysis, and space exploration, to name a few. Here, we present a compilation of some of the most popular columns.

In this "Icons of Spectroscopy" column, executive editor Jerome Workman Jr. delves into Part I of the life and work of C. V. Raman, a physicist who has made major contributions to the science of vibrational spectroscopy and created an understanding for one of the most important quantum-based spectroscopy tools in generations.

Researchers from Jiangsu University and Jimei University have developed an AI-powered detection system using near-infrared spectroscopy and a convolutional neural network long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM) model to accurately identify petroleum contamination in edible oils for improving food safety and quality control.

Top articles published this week include an interview that used handheld near-infrared (NIR) spectrometry to classify polyolefin films, previews of the upcoming Pittcon conference next week, and an article about some of the most influential spectroscopists.

Spectroscopy recently sat down with Dr. Geraldine Monjardez and two of her coauthors, Dr. Christopher Zall and Dr. Jared Estevanes, to discuss their most recent study, which examined the crystal structure of ammonium nitrate (AN) following exposure to explosive events.

Researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology and Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital have demonstrated how optimizing silver nanoparticle concentrations can mitigate the coffee-ring effect in nanoparticle-enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (NELIBS), improving the accuracy of elemental analysis in bioliquid samples.

Our IR Spectral Interpretation column contains some of the most popular articles, according to our readers.

At Pittcon this year, there will be numerous sessions dedicated to spotlighting the latest research that uses atomic spectroscopy or elemental analysis techniques. We highlight some of these talks below that might pique the interest of spectroscopists and researchers attending the conference this year.

At Pittcon, a symposium about advancements in forensic analysis will take place. We preview this symposium here.

On Wednesday, March 5th, the Williams Wright Award will be presented to David W. Schiering of 908 Devices. We preview the award session here.

At Pittcon this year, an oral symposium on Tuesday afternoon will discuss the increasing role of artificial intelligence in vibrational spectroscopy.

By using a handheld NIR spectrometer, researchers aimed to optimize the classification process that makes it possible to differentiate between polyolefin and non-polyolefin films with a single measurement, even for thin films. Their findings could contribute to better recycling processes, helping to address the growing plastic waste problem. Spectroscopy spoke to Hana Stipanovic, corresponding author of a paper resulting from these efforts, about this research.

Top articles published this week include an interview that provides insight into how marine monitoring can improve mitigation of plastic pollution, coverage of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) conference, and an article about next-generation infrared (IR) sensors.

A recent study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis explores the potential of fluorescence anisotropy as a tool for quantifying structural anisotropy in food, offering new insights for improving plant-based alternatives and dairy product textures.

A new study published in Chemical Engineering Journal by researchers from Northeast Agricultural University in China reveals that biochar aging, influenced by environmental factors like UV exposure and wet-dry cycles, alters dissolved organic matter composition and affects its effectiveness in remediating cadmium-contaminated soil.

In this short video, Coblentz Society president Luisa Profeta of Rigaku Analytical Devices and Igor Lednev of the University at Albany preview their talks and sessions taking place at Pittcon, as well as give their opinions about what topics they hope to explore more at the conference.

A recent study examined how to differentiate between genuine and false gemstones using Raman spectroscopy and multivariate analysis.

At the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Conference (AAFS) 2025, several sessions will focus on the use of spectroscopy in forensic analysis.

On Wednesday, February 19th, a plenary session will explore the pros and cons of artificial intelligence. We preview this session here.

On Wednesday, February 19th, 2025, from 8:30–9:30 am EST, a keynote address will take place at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Conference. We preview the keynote here.

Spectroscopy sat down with Samiksha Singh to discuss her team’s latest research in microplastics research, which provided insight into how marine monitoring can improve mitigation of plastic pollution.

A joint study between the Institute for Environment and Energy, Technology and Analytics (IUTA e. V., Duisburg, Germany) and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Germany) explored the combination of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with diode array detector (DAD) and capillary-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (CERS) to directly analyze hemolyzed serum samples. We spoke to Jana Thissen, first author of the paper resulting from this study, about her team’s work.

Researchers from Shandong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed the Shandong University Remote Raman Spectrometer (SDU-RRS), a remote Raman system designed to enhance mineral detection in planetary exploration.

W. W. Coblentz was one of the preeminent researchers in the field of infrared spectroscopy with work spanning a broad range of physics, chemistry, spectroscopic theory, instrumentation, applications, and sample handling. The Coblentz Society was established in his name in 1954 by Norman E. Wright and Van Zandt Williams.