In this interview clip, Dmitry Kurouski, an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, explains why combining near-infrared excitation Raman spectroscopy (NieRS) with partial least squares–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) created a robust method for identifying dyes.
Pittcon 2026 took place in San Antonio, Texas, from March 7–11th, 2026, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center near the Riverwalk and the Alamo. As part of the technical program at Pittcon, there was a section dedicated to forensics. On Sunday March 8th at the show, Dmitry Kurouski, who is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, delivered a talk on Sunday March 8th titled, “Near Infrared Excitation Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Dyes Present on Fabric.”1
At Texas A&M University, Kurouski’s group focuses their research on several application areas, including
Much of our conversation with Kurouski at Pittcon focused on his team’s work in forensic analysis. Part 1 of our conversation with Kurouski focused on the benefits of using NieRS. Kurouski explained why his team used NIeRS over traditional HPLC methods to study forensic dyes. He also mentioned why his team focused his study on analyzing textile fabrics.
In the second part of our conversation with Kurouski, we continue our exploration of his team’s recent study. One of the most important aspects to his team’s study was that NieRS, when coupled with partial least squares–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), achieved high dye identification accuracy even on fabrics contaminated with body fluids. In this video clip, we asked Kurouski for his perspective on what factors were responsible for this high identification accuracy. We also asked him if there were any contamination types more challenging than others.
Spectroscopy will be continuing to provide coverage of the Pittcon 2026 conference on an ongoing basis as we report back from San Antonio. You can stay up to date with our latest coverage of the Pittcon 2026 conference
