Spectroscopy - Digital Edition - 12/01/2011

Scientists from the Lodz University of Technology in Lodz, Poland created a new system to analyze normal and cancer human colon cells.

Creating 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.

A recent study from Southwest Jiaotong University examines using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to analyze the sturdiness of steel rails used in infrastructure projects.

Chinese scientists recently made a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based approach to detect synthetic antioxidants in food samples.

Here are the top five articles that the editors of Spectroscopy published this week.