Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy

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An important class of nanoparticles made of “upconversion” materials has found a central role in sensing. These nanoparticles are used to convert longer-wavelength photons into shorter-wavelength fluorescence to detect temperature, pH, gas molecules, ions, and trace biomolecules.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy offers quick analysis with no sample preparation for many fields, but it is particularly popular for process monitoring, materials science, and medical uses. NIR has also seen applications in agriculture from the very start of the technique, but new instrument capabilities are poised to offer even more to that field. Benoît Igne, a principal scientist at GlaxoSmithKline in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, recently spoke to us about his work using NIR and areas where he thinks the technique has growth potential, specifically process analytical technology and agriculture.

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In honor of Spectroscopy's celebration of 30 years covering the latest developments in materials analysis, we asked a panel of experts to assess the current state of the art of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and try to predict how the technology will develop in the future.

Part II of this series described many of the miniature optical technologies that were developed as a result of the telecommunications boom, and Part III covered conventional small near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers. Here, in Part IV, we bring those themes together and see how the massive investment in telecommunications, microelectro- mechanical systems (MEMS), and micro-opto-electro-mechanical (MOEMS) is starting to impact NIR spectroscopy.

Canadian researchers at the Bloorview Research Institute (Toronto, ON, Canada) and the University of Toronto have developed a way to use optical imaging to decode preference by measuring the intensity of near-infrared light absorbed in brain tissue.

Using a powerful new image-processing technique, researchers at the University of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) have identified an exoplanet in images taken in 1998 with the Hubble Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS).

Japan's Honda Research Institute and precision-equipment manufacturer Shimadzu recently demonstrated a technology that allows humans to control a robot through thought alone.

In Part I of this series, we examined recently developed miniature mid-infrared spectrometers (1). In Part II, we surveyed micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS), and some of the photonics technologies developed for optical communications (2). Here, in Part III, we summarize some of the conventional approaches to miniaturizing near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers, and in Part IV, we will bring these themes together and see how MOEMS and telecommunications photonics are poised to revolutionize NIR spectroscopy with a new generation of miniature instruments.

This month's Technology Forum looks at the topic of FT-IR/NIR spectroscopy and the trends and issues surrounding it. Joining us for this discussion are Rohit Bhargava, with the University of Illinois, Chris Petty, with Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jim Yano and John Beauchaine, with Aspectrics, Richard Larsen, with Jasco, Inc., and Alan Rein, with A2 Technologies.

This article compares three regulatory standards for near-infrared wavelength references and then reviews currently available materials. Reference types discussed include gas and vapor band spectra, solid artifacts in both transmittance and reflectance, and liquids in transmittance. Traceability issues are discussed in connection with calibration and qualification regulatory compliance requirements, particularly for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.