Molecular Spectroscopy

Matthew J. Baker, the winner of Spectroscopy’s inaugural Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award, is passionate about solving clinical problems with vibrational spectroscopy.

Recent reports of the successful use of Raman spectroscopy for important biomedical applications are quite exciting. These applications include imaging for disease diagnosis, including significant improvements for endoscopic probes, and identification of microorganisms. But is it truly practical and feasible to implement Raman technologies in a clinical environment?

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy continues to be used in a variety of applications, including drug quality testing and drug identification. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been exploring the use of this technique, along with mass spectrometry (MS), in connection with staff at the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Spectroscopy spoke with FDA chemist, David Keire, on this topic.

Spectroscopy recently spoke with Sergei Kazarian, professor of physical chemistry at Imperial College London (London, UK), about his research with FT-IR imaging.

Spectroscopy recently interviewed professor Robert J. Levis, professor of chemistry at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on his work with strong lasers, including specific applications such as tissue typing and tissue analysis.

Spectroscopy techniques are an important facet of the laboratory analytical and life science instrument industry, which continues to expand as its analytical requirements migrate across industries and geographic regions. Overall industry growth has been in the 6-8% range for the last few years, which is a sign of both its maturity and its stability. The demands of the life science marketplace, environmental concerns, and the search for new materials are important driving forces. Likewise, the shifting market focus from North America and Europe to Asia is changing the face of the industry. It is expected that 2008 will be a good year for the industry despite the likely economic slowdown in North America and Europe.

Industry expert Lawrence Schmid presents his annual overview of the market in the laboratory analytical and life science instrument industry. Strong growth in Asia and continued growth in North America and Europe are promising signs for the industry in 2007 and beyond.