April 16th 2025
A new deep learning-enhanced spectroscopic platform—SERSome—developed by researchers in China and Finland, identifies medicinal and edible homologs (MEHs) with 98% accuracy. This innovation could revolutionize safety and quality control in the growing MEH market.
Investigating Protein Receptors and Other Biomolecules Using SERS and TERS
September 2nd 2021Zac Schultz of The Ohio State University and his team used tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with gold nanostars to investigate chemical reactions involved in protein–ligand binding. He recently spoke with Spectroscopy about his findings.
Exploring Neurochemistry Using Raman Spectroscopy
September 2nd 2021Bhavya Sharma is the winner of the 2021 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award. We recently interviewed her about her work conducting research to detect active and important biomolecules related to hormone regulation, neurological health, and disease diagnosis.
Recording the Raman Spectrum of a Single Molecule
September 2nd 2021Analytical chemists are continually striving to advance techniques to make it possible to observe and measure matter and processes at smaller and smaller scales. Professor Vartkess Ara Apkarian and his team at the University of California, Irvine have made a significant breakthrough in this quest: They have recorded the Raman spectrum of a single azobenzene thiol molecule. The approach, which breaks common tenets about surface-enhanced Raman scattering/spectroscopy (SERS) and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), involved imaging an isolated azobenzene thiol molecule on an atomically flat gold surface, then picking it up and recording its Raman spectrum using an electrochemically etched silver tip, in an ultrahigh vacuum cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope. For the resulting paper detailing the effort [1], Apkarian and his associates are the 2021 recipients of the William F. Meggers Award, given annually by the Society for Applied Spectroscopy to the authors of the outstanding paper appearing in the journal Applied Spectroscopy. We spoke to Apkarian about this research, and what being awarded this honor means to him and his team. This interview is part of an ongoing series with the winners of awards that are presented at the annual SciX conference. The award will be presented to Apkarian at this fall’s event, which will be held in person in Providence, Rhode Island, September 28–October 1.
An Adventure with Light and Reflections on Science
September 2nd 2021Working at the frontiers of biotechnology, fiberoptics, lasers technique, and molecular spectroscopy, Tuan Vo-Dinh of Duke University has developed multiple sensor technologies for medical research and diagnostics. Throughout this work, Vo-Dinh and his research colleagues have brought spectroscopy to biomedical applications. In this second recent interview, Vo-Dinh talks about his research work and philosophy.
An increasing number of antibiotic residue problems in food have emerged around the world. We examine how SERS is used to identify antibiotic residues in chicken, focusing on doxycycline hydrochloride and tylosin.
Raman Spectroscopy: A Key Technique in Investigating Carbon-Based Materials
August 1st 2021This article explains the key steps of using Raman technology to investigate carbon and carbon-based materials—such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon fibers and composites—as well as the process of analyzing the spectra.
Using confocal Raman imaging and other advanced measurement techniques, we study the localized strain characteristics of tungsten diselenide (WSe2), an important nanomaterial used for optoelectronic device applications.
Tracking Bioactive Compounds Produced by Genetically Engineered Yeast Cells Using Raman Imaging
June 1st 2021Using Raman imaging, wild-type and engineered yeast cells were compared for their ability to produce bioactive compounds. Raman imaging microscopy is able to visualize locales, relative abundance, and production efficiencies of biologically active compounds for the individual yeast cells.
A Dual Nanostructured Approach to SERS Substrates Amenable to Large-Scale Production
June 1st 2021SERS can amplify Raman signals, but to make the technique practical for industrial use, large quantities of substrate are needed. The approach described here could enable cost-effective, reproducible manufacturing of SERS substrates at large scale.
Raman Spectroscopy as a Tool for Rapid Feedback of Perovskite Growth Crystallinity and Composition
June 1st 2021Perovskites are known to be useful for fabrication of solar cells, and their crystalline structure plays an important role in their electronic properties. Here, we show how Raman analysis is able to confirm the presence of the required crystalline phase for solar cell production.
Terahertz Spectral Characterization of Plasma Spray–Deposited Nickel Film on an Alumina Cylinder
April 1st 2021Plasma spray–deposited metal films are used in many industrial applications. This study shows how high resolution terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) can be used to analyze and characterize such films.
Combined Raman and Photoluminescence Imaging of Two-Dimensional WS2
March 1st 2021Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy were combined with imaging to examine the spatial variation of solid-state structure and electronic character of two-dimensional (2-D) tungsten disulfide (WS2) crystals, which represent a family of new inorganic 2-D materials.
Raman measurements of chromite minerals demonstrated that chromium content could be accurately determined, supporting a possible application of portable Raman devices on Earth or in space for mineral analysis of asteroids and planets.
Assignment of Raman Bands of a Set of Biopolymers with Small Increases in an Added Functional Group
February 1st 2021Raman spectra were measured in combination with 2D-COS analysis to understand how the addition of propyl side groups to a biopolymer backbone influences the structure of the polymer at the atomic level.
Using Raman Spectroscopy for the Characterization of Zeolite Crystals
January 1st 2021Zeolites are the most-used catalyst in industry. Synthesizing tailor-made zeolites is hampered by a poor understanding of how zeolite crystals actually form in solution. Scott M. Auerbach of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is addressing this challenge with Raman spectroscopy.