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Jerome Workman Jr. serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Spectroscopy and is currently with Unity Scientific LLC. He is also an adjunct professor at Liberty University and U.S. National University. He can be reached at jworkman04@gsb.columbia.edu.

Articles

Inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and ICP–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are often considered mature techniques, but researchers know that some aspects of the techniques are still not fully understood. Probing the mechanisms involved can lead to more accurate results, and in some cases may cast doubt on accepted explanations. John W. Olesik, who directs the Trace Element Research Laboratory (TERL) in the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University, has spent many years studying the processes that control signals in ICP techniques, and yet he is still encountering surprises. He is also in a unique position to get involved in exciting applied research, because the TERL also provides elemental analysis and access to ICP-OES and ICP-MS instruments to groups throughout the university as well as to clients and collaborators outside Ohio State—leading to all sorts of collaborations. We recently interviewed him about his recent research and career. This is the first part of a two-part interview series. 

Fundamental Research and Applications of ICP-OES and ICP-MS Toward Improved Understanding of Elemental Chemical Analysis

The nanoworld is a new frontier that has opened up for scientific exploration in recent years. Mun Seok Jeong of the Department of Energy Science at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea is exploring the nanoscale of material science using a suite of new spectroscopy tools. The prominent analytical toolset for this nanoanalysis includes infrared nanoscopy and Tip-Enhanced resonance Raman Scattering, often referred to as Tip-enhanced Raman Scattering (TERS). Jeong’s current research is in the exploration of the physics and chemistry of newly emerging materials by novel approaches in fabrication, characterization, and detailed analysis of optoelectronic devices. We recently spoke to him about his work.

Advancing Spectroscopy into the Nanoworld of Materials Science: Vibrational Nanoscopy, Infrared Nanoscopy, and Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Tobias Konz of Nestlé Research, Lausanne, Switzerland and various associates have developed and validated what they describe as a reliable, robust, and easy-to-implement quantitative method for multielemental analysis of low-volume samples. The ICP-MS-based method comprises the analysis of 20 elements (Mg, P, S, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, I, Cs, and Ba) in 10 μL of serum and 12 elements (Mg, S, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn Se, Br, Rb, Mo, and Cs) in less than 250,000 cells, and involved the analysis of elemental profiles of serum and sorted immune T cells derived from naıv̈e and tumor-bearing mice. The results indicate a tumor systemic effect on the elemental profiles of both serum and T cells. Konz and his colleagues believe their approach highlights promising applications of multielemental analysis in precious samples such as rare cell populations or limited volumes of biofluids that could provide a deeper understanding of the essential role of elements as cofactors in biological and pathological processes. Konz spoke to us about this work.

Quantitative Methods for Multielemental Analysis in Low Volume Biofluids 

Kay Sowoidnich, PhD, is a research associate with Laser Sensors Lab at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik and one of the 2020 winners of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy William F. Meggers Award. His group have been able to demonstrate the potential of shifted-excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) as an efficient tool for soil nutrient analysis. 

Analyzing Soil and Meat with Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy

For more than 20 years, Heidi Goenaga-Infante, a science fellow and the leader of the inorganic analysis team at LGC, has been working on elemental and speciation analysis. Two recent areas of investigation include the analysis of trace metals in biological samples, and the study of nanomaterials. In these studies, Goenaga-Infante puts particular emphasis on metrology-advancing this work by developing validated reference methodologies. Goenaga-Infante is the 2020 recipient of the Lester W. Strock Award from Society of Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) and the SAS New England Regional Section, in recognition of her contributions to the field of analytical atomic spectrometry, and she recently spoke to us about her work. This interview is part of an ongoing series of interviews with the winners of awards that are presented at the SciX conference.

Advancing Trace Elemental and Speciation Analysis with a Focus on Metrology

In 2009, a group of researchers conducted a study, using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), to determine if heavy metal contaminants were present in a variety of pet foods . Results were compared to 2009 EPA Reference Dose (RfD) and World Health Organization (WHO) Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) levels, scaled to the sizes of pets.  In the intervening decade, the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA) was enacted, and pet food became one of the targets of scrutiny. The team conducted a follow-up study in 2019, revisiting the pet food brands first analyzed in 2009 as well as new brands that have emerged since, to see if anything changed significantly in the intervening decade. The new study used updated cryogenic and microwave technologies for sample preparation before ICP-MS analysis. We spoke to the study’s lead author, Patricia Atkins, a Senior Application Scientist at Spex CertiPrep, about this investigation.

Assessing Heavy Metals in Pet Food with ICP-MS: An Update

In this interview, Dr. Claudia Conti, a senior researcher at the Institute of Heritage Science (ISPC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), talks about her work in micro-SORS. Conti is the winner of the 2020 Craver Award presented by the Coblentz Society, to be given at the 2020 SciX conference for her Raman research. The SciX conference is scheduled for October 11–16 in Sparks, Nevada. This interview is part of a series of interviews with winners of awards presented at SciX.

Micro-Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (Micro-SORS) for Research in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Working at the frontiers of biotechnology, fiberoptics, lasers technique and molecular spectroscopy, Tuan Vo-Dinh of Duke University has developed multiple sensor technologies useful for medical research and diagnostics. In this interview, he talks about his work in spectroscopy and photonics. Vo-Dinh is the winner of the 2019 Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) Sir George Stokes Award. He gave a plenary lecture at the 2020 SciX conference, in October in Sparks, Nevada. This interview is part of an ongoing series with the winners of awards that are presented at SciX.

Spectroscopy for Medicine—From SERS, Laser-Induced Fluorescence, and Biosensors to Analytical Nanotools

Overall, the application of Raman spectroscopy has yielded greater understanding of multiple biomedical problems. We interviewed Prof. Yuki Ozaki, professor emeritus and a university fellow at Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan, about his work in this field. Ozaki is the winner of the 2020 Charles Mann Award for Applied Raman Spectroscopy to be given at the 2020 SciX conference for his Raman work in biomedical applications. This interview is part of a series of interviews with winners of awards presented at SciX.

Biomedical Applications of Raman Spectroscopy Over Several Decades

Mary Kate Donais of Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire, uses mobile instruments in analytical archaeometry studies, and has conducted a recent study on the spectroscopic characterization of historic fabrics from a turn-of-the-19th century New England mill belonging to the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, also in Manchester, and one of the largest textile producers in the world at its prime. We recently spoke to Donais about this work.

Spectroscopy Interviews