Best of the Week: The Future of Spectroscopy Curriculum, Mapping Oxidation in Fractured Knee Implant Posts

SpecAcademy is live, but the number of courses young spectroscopists will have access to will continue to grow. A recent panel discussion with five SpecAcademy instructors explored what topics should be featured in future courses on the platform. Also, how has near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy evolved, and what can Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy tell us about the oxidation of posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty implants? We’ll explore both these topics here.

This is the Best of the Week.

First up is the final installment of our five-part SpecAcademy panel. Five instructors explained why the platform's first courses focus on fundamentals. Undergraduate programs have shifted toward other disciplines, and changes to American Chemical Society certification have weakened spectroscopy training.¹ The panelists also warned that automated instruments encourage users to accept results without question. Future courses could cover Raman and infrared (IR) interpretation, instrumentation, spectral searching, NIR, attenuated total reflectance (ATR), ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, and photothermal methods. Their reminder: chemometrics can't fix bad data.¹

Next, Jerome Workman, Jr., examines how machine learning (ML) is transforming near-infrared spectroscopy. NIR was once a routine tool for analyzing grain and tablets.² Now, it fits in handheld devices, and neural networks are replacing traditional calibrations. Today, NIR helps control fermentation, detects hidden consciousness in brain-injured patients, and screens for microplastics. Workman concludes that NIR has moved from reporting numbers to making judgments, though real-world reliability is still an open question.²

At SciX 2026, Petra Baylin and Nancy Pleshko of Temple University discussed why polyethylene posts in knee replacement implants sometimes fracture. These fractures are rare, but each one requires revision surgery. Using FT-IR spectral imaging, the team mapped oxidation across retrieved implants.³ They found that it peaks near the post's midpoint, right where the femoral component makes repeated contact.³ They suggest that better implant selection could reduce the risk.³

Finally, another review article explored how photothermal and quantum cascade lasers are pushing FT-IR past the diffraction limit. Optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy reaches roughly 450-nm resolution, while quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) dramatically speed up acquisition.⁴ Looking ahead, Workman expects instruments that combine both strengths.

That's the Best of the Week. Thanks for reading, thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week.

References

1. Miseo, E.; Carrabba, M.; Larkin, P. J.; D’Agostino, J.; de Haseth, J.; Wetzel, W. Where Should Spectroscopy Curriculum Go Next? Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/where-should-spectroscopy-curriculum-go-next- (accessed October 6, 2026).
2. Workman, Jr., J. Light That Thinks: How Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Learned to See Inside Bodies, Bioreactors, and the Biosphere. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/light-that-thinks-how-near-infrared-spectroscopy-learned-to-see-inside-bodies-bioreactors-and-the-biosphere (accessed October 6, 2026).
3. Pleshko, N.; Baylin, P. A.; Wetzel, W. Mapping Oxidation in Fractured Knee Implant Posts with FT-IR Imaging. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/mapping-oxidation-in-fractured-knee-implant-posts-with-ft-ir-imaging (accessed October 7, 2026).
4. Workman, Jr., J. Past the Diffraction Limit: How Photothermal and Quantum Cascade Lasers Are Reinventing FT-IR Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/past-the-diffraction-limit-how-photothermal-and-quantum-cascade-lasers-are-reinventing-ft-ir-spectroscopy (accessed October 6, 2026).