Raman Spectroscopy

An upcoming interview with Ji-Xin Cheng, a Theodore Moustakas Distinguished Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics at Boston University, will highlight his ongoing work in coherent Raman scattering microscopy.

Reliability, dynamic measurements, artificial intelligence, and real-world applications are reshaping Raman spectroscopy – while Molecular Photonics points toward new translational frontiers.

Jurgen Popp, Thomas Mayerhofer, and colleagues at Leibniz IPHT and Friedrich Schiller University Jena introduce the Personalized Optical Digital Twin (PODT), a Photonics21 contribution to Europe's Virtual Human Twin ecosystem that connects molecular photonics—Raman blood analysis, coherent Raman tissue imaging, and multimodal endomicroscopy—with longitudinal physiology and clinical data. Drawing on the published multicenter INTELLIGENCE trials, the authors argue that technical feasibility and clinical utility must be evaluated separately as the field moves toward Europe's FP10 research agenda.

The Peter Griffiths Award, named for the legendary infrared spectroscopist, recognizes the best paper published annually in Applied Spectroscopy Practica. Its inaugural recipients, Sara Fraser-Miller and coauthors, will be honored at SciX 2026, and the journal is now accepting 2026 submissions for the third award.

Jay P. Kitt, a University of Utah research assistant professor who has spent a decade extending confocal Raman microscopy from phospholipid membranes to nucleic acids and peptide-membrane interactions, is the recipient of Spectroscopy's 2026 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award.

A proof-of-concept study combines a convolutional neural network feature extractor with the conventional hit quality index (HQI) to improve Raman spectral comparison, reducing spurious similarity and improving discrimination between closely related protein and antibody spectra.

A new peer-reviewed article discusses how pairing quantum mechanics with nanomaterial-based Raman spectroscopy has significantly boosted the technique's sensitivity.

Raman spectroscopy is shedding its bulky, benchtop reputation as chip-scale spectrometers, tip-enhanced probes, and AI-native detectors push the technique into pockets, production lines, and single molecules. The result is an instrument category being rebuilt from the optics up, faster, smaller, deeper, and smarter than the Raman systems of even five years ago.

Researchers have developed a new validated attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy framework for forensically distinguishing automotive vinyl wraps by manufacturer, color, and finish.

Peter R. Griffiths, a pioneering figure in Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy who authored or coauthored more than 300 scientific papers and numerous books over five decades, died August 29, 2026, at age 84. This tribute traces his career from Oxford and Digilab through Ohio University and the University of Idaho, his landmark books and the Handbook of Vibrational Spectroscopy, and his many honors, including the 2023 Ellis R. Lippincott Award and 2024 Optica Fellowship.

A recent study presented a new system for testing metal contamination on microplastics.

A recent review article examines how AI-assisted spectroscopic tools are propelling forensic trace evidence analysis forward.

A hybrid Uniform Design and process-data calibration strategy improves Raman-based PLS model development for real-time monitoring of ultrafiltration/diafiltration and in vitro transcription steps in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

A forensic case study using FT-IR, portable Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDS to differentiate three-layer automotive coatings from a hit-and-run accident, demonstrating that combining complementary spectroscopic and elemental techniques improves the accuracy of paint evidence identification.

The 29th International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy (ICORS) takes place next week in Istanbul, Turkey. We preview the conference here.

Researchers developed spherical and hollow gold nanoparticle-based SERS platforms that enable label-free molecular imaging of chemotherapy drug effects and drug release within cancer cells, offering a theranostic tool with potential applications in early cancer diagnostics.

The following articles are the most accessed digital object identifier (DOI) manuscripts for Spectroscopy and LCGC International during the month of July 2026. Nine articles are ranked here by DOI page views; a tenth entry in the July report (135 views) was recorded against the bare journal-level DOI rather than an individual article and is therefore not attributable to a single manuscript.

How can inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detect particles that were missed in initial analyses?

Can spectroscopy make real-time monitoring in nuclear and radioisotope facilities faster and safer?

An upcoming talk at the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2026 Fall Meeting will address a key question in membrane biophysics.

Top articles published this week include a preview of an upcoming presentation at the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2026 Fall Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

Webinar Date/Time: Tue, Sep 8, 2026 2:00 PM CEST (8:00 AM EDT)

Nearly every diabetic on earth still stabs a finger to measure their blood sugar, but a small army of lasers, infrared beams, and machine-learning algorithms is quietly plotting to end that ritual for good. This review tracks the photons chasing glucose through skin, from near-infrared reflectance to Raman fingerprints, and asks why the “needle-free” promise keeps slipping just out of reach.

The July 2026 “What’s Nu” newsletter highlights a recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rule that can impact peer-review publishing.

Spectrometers that once filled an entire lab bench now fit in a coat pocket, and they are quietly reshaping how fentanyl gets identified on a roadside, how counterfeit cashmere gets caught on a loading dock, and how a 500-year-old painting gets authenticated without ever leaving the wall. This review tracks five years of coverage from Spectroscopy alongside the broader literature to show how handheld Raman, FT-IR, NIR, and XRF instruments moved from laboratory novelty to field necessity.