A New Mass Spectrometry Method for Analyzing Complex Samples

A candid plenary on the incentives shaping academic science was followed by an afternoon of talks spanning flowing SERS detection, historical textiles, maple syrup, pathogen immunoassays, and electrochemical Raman microscopy.

The 2026 AES Mid-Career Award recipient explains how molecular-scale simulations of polyelectrolyte brush-grafted nanochannels are revealing unexpected flow behavior.

The 2026 Ellis R. Lippincott Award recipient discusses the barriers to clinical adoption of photonic diagnostics and his vision for personalized optical digital twins.

The University of Utah researcher discusses surface-area-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, lipid membrane studies, and his move into PFAS testing.

Honored with a dedicated Spectrochimica Acta Part B award session at SciX 2026, De Giacomo explains why larger nanoparticles produce stronger LIBS signals and what that means for sensing design.

In this Q&A, we explore some of the breakthroughs that have allowed spectrometers to be reduced in size while maintaining their effectiveness out in the field.

Wednesday's program at SciX 2026 kept returning to one question: can spectroscopy perform outside the controlled laboratory? Speakers took surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), mid-infrared photonics, chemometrics, and fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy into clinics, food plants, reactor coolant loops, brine fields, and drinking water supplies.

As part of our coverage of the SciX 2026 Conference, Nancy Pleshko and Petra Baylin of Temple University sat down with Spectroscopy to talk about their recent study, explaining how Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) imaging of ultra-high weight molecular polyethylene (UHMWPE) implants permits oxidation evaluation throughout the sample yielding insight into failure.