Best of the Week: Top Content in Spectroscopy, Quantitative Raman Spectroscopy

2026 was a busy year in analytical spectroscopy. Over the course of the year, we published nearly 150 pieces of evergreen content. A recent article organizes these pieces by subject. Also, Raman spectroscopy continues to be used for several important clinical applications, and advancements in X-ray techniques are leading to several key advancements poised to change the field for years to come. We’ll discuss all of these advancements here.

This is the Best of the Week.

First up, our editors have curated 143 evergreen articles published in 2026. These are pieces meant to stay useful long after the news cycle moves on. Instead of sorting them by date, we organized them by subject, from terminology guides and ATR fundamentals to chemometrics, AI, portable instruments, and applications in clinical diagnostics and cultural heritage.

Next, we spoke with Jürgen Popp, this year’s Ellis R. Lippincott Award recipient, at SciX. Popp explained what it takes to bring Raman spectroscopy into hospitals, from robust hardware and software to results that clinicians can use. He also discussed an AI-assisted sepsis test that could deliver results in 10 to 15 minutes, surgical Raman probes that could replace slower frozen section biopsies, and the personalized optical digital twin, which he believes could reach routine care within the next decade.

We also sat down with Jay Kitt, our 2026 Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy. Kitt reflected on his confocal Raman research, including work that grew into an alternative to SERS, and his studies of cardiolipin and gramicidin A. He also talked about his move to PFAS testing startup Litmus Analytical, and why he believes AI and mature instrumentation could finally help scientists decode what Raman spectra are telling us.

Finally, Jerome Workman, Jr. examined how XRF, XRD, and XPS are becoming faster, smaller, and more energy efficient. From microbeam XRF on the benchtop to handheld analyzers screening food for heavy metals, he forecasts more miniaturization, wider AI adoption, and multimodal characterization platforms in the years ahead.

And that’ll do it for the Best of the Week. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next week.

References

1. Spectroscopy Editors, Curated 2026 Evergreen Content from Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/curated-2026-evergreen-content-from-spectroscopy (accessed November 10, 2026).
2. Popp, J.; Wetzel, W. The Latest in Surgical Raman Probes, Sepsis Diagnostics, and the Personalized Optical Twin. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-latest-in-surgical-raman-probes-sepsis-diagnostics-and-the-personalized-optical-twin (accessed November 10, 2026).
3. Kitt, J.; Wetzel, W. Quantitative Raman Spectroscopy and the Unsolved Puzzle of Spectral Interpretation. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/quantitative-raman-spectroscopy-and-the-unsolved-puzzle-of-spectral-interpretation (accessed November 10, 2026).
4. Workman, J., Jr. From Attosecond Pulses to Handheld Analyzers: The Widening Reach of X-Ray Analytical Techniques. Spectroscopy Online, 2026. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/from-attosecond-pulses-to-handheld-analyzers-the-widening-reach-of-x-ray-analytical-techniques (accessed November 10, 2026).