July 18th 2025
Top articles published this week include an interview about drug detection techniques with Robert Ewing of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a feature about how funding cuts are impacting analytical chemists, and a compilation of articles about how Raman spectroscopy is being used in cancer diagnostics.
How Analytical Chemists Are Navigating DOGE-Driven Funding Cuts
July 14th 2025DOGE-related federal funding cuts have sharply reduced salaries, lab budgets, and graduate support in academia. Researchers view the politically driven shifts in priorities as part of recurring systemic issues in U.S. science funding during administrative transitions. The impact on Federal laboratories has varied, with some seeing immediate effects and others experiencing more gradual effects. In general, there is rising uncertainty over future appropriations. Sustainable recovery may require structural reforms, leaner administration, and stronger industry-academia collaboration. New commentary underscores similar challenges, noting scaled-back graduate admissions, spending freezes, and a pervasive sense of overwhelming stress among faculty, students, and staff. This article addresses these issues for the analytical chemistry community.
Rapid Sweetener Detection Achieved Through Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning
July 10th 2025Researchers at Heilongjiang University have developed a rapid and accurate method for detecting sweeteners in food using Raman spectroscopy combined with a Random Forest machine learning algorithm, offering a powerful tool for improving food safety.
AI Boosts SERS for Next Generation Biomedical Breakthroughs
July 2nd 2025Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University are harnessing artificial intelligence to elevate surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for highly sensitive, multiplexed biomedical analysis, enabling faster diagnostics, imaging, and personalized treatments.
Evaluating Microplastic Detection with Fluorescence Microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy
July 2nd 2025A recent study presented a dual-method approach combining confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy and Nile Red-assisted fluorescence microscopy to enhance the accuracy and throughput of microplastics detection in environmental samples.
Artificial Intelligence Accelerates Molecular Vibration Analysis, Study Finds
July 1st 2025A new review led by researchers from MIT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory outlines how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the study of molecular vibrations and phonons, making spectroscopic analysis faster, more accurate, and more accessible.
AI and Dual-Sensor Spectroscopy Supercharge Antibiotic Fermentation
June 30th 2025Researchers from Chinese universities have developed an AI-powered platform that combines near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy for real-time monitoring and control of antibiotic production, boosting efficiency by over 30%.
Polystyrene and UVC Sterilization Tested with Spectroscopy and Luminescence Tools
June 25th 2025A team of researchers from Spanish institutions has found that polystyrene used in healthcare packaging shows strong resistance to UVC sterilization, with minimal chemical degradation detected using FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy.
New Spectroscopy Methods Target Counterfeit Oral Medication Syrups
June 23rd 2025Researchers at Georgia College and Purdue University have developed a fast, low-cost method using Raman and UV–visible spectroscopy combined with chemometric modeling to accurately screen and quantify active ingredients in over-the-counter oral syrups, helping to fight counterfeit medications.
Fluorescence Emission and Raman Spectroscopy Offer Greater Insight into Poultry Meat Quality
June 19th 2025Researchers from the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) in Catalunya, Spain used fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy to explore complex tissue changes behind wooden breast myopathy in chickens.
Rigaku Releases Updated Handheld Raman Analyzer for Chemical Threat Detection
June 17th 2025In an announcement on June 12, Rigaku Analytical Devices, which is a division of Rigaku Holdings Corporation headquartered in Akishima, Tokyo, announced the launch of its Icon series of 1064-nm Raman analyzers, its fourth-generation of the instrument.
New Study Explores Micro-Raman and FT-IR Analysis of Early Human Tools
June 16th 2025Researchers from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Padua have uncovered the earliest direct evidence of Upper Palaeolithic humans deliberately processing the non-edible plant Isatis tinctoria, revealing complex behaviors involving medicinal or dye-related plant use over 32,000 years ago.
Best of the Week: SciX Award Interviews, Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering
June 13th 2025Top articles published this week include an interview about aromatic–metal interactions, a tutorial article about the recent advancements in tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), and a news article about using shortwave and near-infrared (SWIR/NIR) spectral imaging in cultural heritage applications.
New NIR/Raman Remote Imaging Reveals Hidden Salt Damage in Historic Fort
June 10th 2025Researchers have developed an analytical method combining remote near-infrared and Raman spectroscopy with machine learning to noninvasively map moisture and salt damage in historic buildings, offering critical insight into ongoing structural deterioration.
Night Vision Boosts Affordable Raman System for Long-Range Chemical Detection
Published: June 9th 2025 | Updated: June 9th 2025Researchers in Thailand have developed a cost-effective standoff Raman spectroscopy system using a night-vision intensified spectrometer and digital correction algorithms. The system reliably detects chemical compounds at distances up to 60 meters with high spectral resolution.
Tip-enhanced Raman Scattering using a Chemically-modified Tip
Published: June 9th 2025 | Updated: June 17th 2025In this tutorial article, Yukihiro Ozaki explores the recent advancements and broadening applications of tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS), a cutting-edge technique that integrates scanning probe microscopy (SPM) with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). TERS enables highly localized chemical analysis at the nano- to subnano-scale, achieving spatial resolution well beyond the diffraction limit of light. Ozaki highlights the versatility of TERS in various experimental environments—ranging from ambient air to ultrahigh vacuum and electrochemical systems—and its powerful utility in fields such as single-molecule detection, biomolecular mechanism studies, nanomaterial characterization, and high-resolution imaging.
AI-Powered Raman Spectroscopy Signals New Era for Drug Development and Disease Diagnosis
June 4th 2025A recent review in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis highlights how AI, particularly deep learning, is revolutionizing Raman spectroscopy by enhancing its accuracy, efficiency, and applications in drug development, quality control, and clinical diagnostics.
Bruce R. Kowalski: The Maverick Mind Behind Chemometrics
June 2nd 2025In this Icons of Spectroscopy article, Executive Editor Jerome Workman Jr. delves into the life and impact of Bruce Kowalski, an analytical chemist whose major contributions to chemometrics helped establish the field of applying advanced quantitative and qualitative mathematics to extract meaningful chemical information from complex datasets. Kowalski’s visionary approach to chemical data analysis, education, and software development has transformed the landscape of modern analytical chemistry for academia and industry.
Raman Reveals Rare Ribbeck Meteorite Clues About Ancient Solar System
May 28th 2025A team of scientists in Poland has unveiled the first detailed structural and magnetic analysis of the Ribbeck meteorite, a recently recovered space rock classified as an aubrite. Using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and advanced magnetic testing, researchers revealed the meteorite's unique mineralogy and its connection to deep space conditions.
Ancient Meteorite Reveals Space Weathering Secrets Through Cutting-Edge Spectroscopy
Published: May 27th 2025 | Updated: May 27th 2025Researchers in Rome used advanced spectroscopic techniques to probe the mineralogy of the CM2 carbonaceous chondrite NWA 12184. This revealed the effects of space weathering and provided insights into C-type asteroid evolution.