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Salt in wooden bowl on dark stone table. Sea salt on black background. | Image Credit: © Milan - stock.adobe.com

Vibrational spectra of six new hexafluorosilicate salts containing different amino acids (glycine (Gly), sarcosine (Sar), dimethylglycine (DMG), betaine (Bet), β-alanine (β-Ala) and l-proline (l-Pro)) are typically recorded and discussed on the basis of their structures. The presence of cations, dimeric cations with short hydrogen bonds, and hexafluorosilicate anions is reflected in the spectra.

Cuong Cao from the Institute for Global Food Security at the School of Biological Sciences of Queen’s University in Belfast and his team of researchers conducted a preliminary exploratory study and detected the presence of MPs by automated Raman spectroscopy and subsequently NPs by using nanoparticle-on-film SERS (NPoF SERS) substrate released from chewing gum base plastic, a technique that has potential in screening a varied array of environmental pollutants, as well as a point-of-site tool when coupled with a handheld Raman instrument. Cao spoke to Spectroscopy about this work, and the resulting paper.