Detecting Pesticides on Produce with Spectroscopy
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed a new QTOF method for detecting pesticides on produce.
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed a new method for detecting pesticides on produce. The new method uses plasma to collect molecules from the surface of fruits or vegetables and push them into a quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer for analysis.
This new method uses an atmospheric pressure glow-discharge (APGD) source developed by members of the research team to generate the plasma. By eliminating the time-intensive step of extracting physical samples from the produce for analysis, this method makes the detection process considerably faster than traditional detection methods.
According to the scientists, however, the process is still in the early stages of development. The system can detect the presence of pesticides on the produce, but it cannot determine the amount of those chemicals present. Future applications for the method include detection of explosives or drugs on surfaces, inspection of meat for spoilage or harmful bacteria, and detection of doping and other banned substances in athletes.
Getting accurate IR spectra on monolayer of molecules
April 18th 2024Creating uniform and repeatable monolayers is incredibly important for both scientific pursuits as well as the manufacturing of products in semiconductor, biotechnology, and. other industries. However, measuring monolayers and functionalized surfaces directly is. difficult, and many rely on a variety of characterization techniques that when used together can provide some degree of confidence. By combining non-contact atomic force microscopy (AFM) and IR spectroscopy, IR PiFM provides sensitive and accurate analysis of sub-monolayer of molecules without the concern of tip-sample cross contamination. Dr. Sung Park, Molecular Vista, joined Spectroscopy to provide insights on how IR PiFM can acquire IR signature of monolayer films due to its unique implementation.
