Application Notes

Since Sir C.V. Raman discovered the Raman effect in the 1920s, it has become essential to many fields of research and industry.

Strict production requirements, consumer demand, and at times poor harvests, result in high prices and can limit the supply of EVOO. Consequently, EVOO is susceptible to economically motivated adulteration with less expensive oils and claims of authenticity continue to be a concern.

Diamond is an important material choice for sampling optical elements in Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.

Infrared and Raman spectroscopy are critical analytical techniques in the pharmaceutical industry, used for the structural elucidation and characterization of organic materials such as new drug candidates, impurities, metabolites, and excipients.

Spectroscopic techniques have a long history as quantitative methods for on-line and at-line use in a wide range of industries, where, in many cases, they are more accurate than the reference methods. These processes are typically continuous, but time-depending processes such as batch processes are widely used in many industries.

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has expanded the applications of Raman spectroscopy to include trace analysis of materials such as explosives residues, evidence at crime scenes, chemical warfare agents and pesticides. As a label-free technique, SERS is also well suited to biosensing, from blood glucose to diagnosis of diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

While traditional near-infrared Raman systems offer non-contact identification of several explosive substances, they are prone to interfering fluorescence. 1064nm dispersive Raman systems offer reduced interference and higher prediction accuracy.

All optical coating that receive light from, or direct light into, non-normal angles-it is vital to characterize the wavelength-, angle-, and polarization-resolved reflectance and transmittance. Learn how to measure new materials that have emerged to meet new applications.

In gemology the TSI ChemReveal LIBS Desktop Analyzer has been used to aid gemologists in gemstone classification. This paper highlights study results of this instrument in some of those applications.

Combining a high precision FT-IR spectrometer with a long pathlength gas cell provides a powerful tool for analyzing trace levels of contaminants in air and other gas mixtures (Figure 1). Two important applications of this are ensuring air quality and the purity of breathing oxygen and compressed air.

Early detection of oil conditions can reduce equipment down-time from equipment repairs and allows for optimization of maintenance interval to the lubricant’s ability to protect the equipment. A unique dual NIR and Raman system is utilized for optimized results.

NIR reflectance spectroscopy provides a reliable method for measuring food quality. Monitoring parameters such as moisture, protein and fat content is a critical part of managing quality throughout the supply chain. In this application note, we examine the impact of dynamic sampling on improving the repeatability of NIR reflectance measurements of corn kernels without increasing the total time or frequency of measurements.

Color measurement is important to many industries and the ability to quantify a given color value is very important. One way of achieving this quantitation is by the use of color space analysis. This note demonstrate the measurement of color using two different UV-Vis spectrophotometers, with glass filters used as samples

Learn about the potential of molecular spectroscopy techniques launched for screening a number of whisky authenticity problems and recommended suitable miniaturization approaches for the fight against spirit fraud.

For the correct treatment of urolithiasis, it is essential to determine the chemical composition of the stones in order to discover the underlying cause of their formation. FTIR is one of the most powerful and cost-efficient methods for analysis of kidney stones.

A rapid, accurate, and reproducible method was developed for high-throughput testing of nicotine, cotinine, trans-3’-hydroxycotinine, nornicotine, norcotinine, and anabasine in urine. Data show that a fast and highly efficient analysis of these basic compounds can be achieved with the Raptor Biphenyl column using standard reversed-phase LC–MS mobile phases that are compatible with a variety of LC–MS instrumentation.

This applications note presents an example of ppb sensitivity using a commercially available PAS system based on MEMs cantilever microphone technology together with a high power, narrow band and widely tunable mid-infrared OPO.

Gluten -- a substance found in grains – is an allergen for some people. When processing gluten-free and other grains, cross contamination is a risk. This article describes how NIR spectroscopy combines with machine vision for accurate sorting of glutenous grains.

The use of the transmission Raman mode instead of the traditional backscattering one brings additional flexibility for the analysis of material, especially when averaged information of bulky samples is required.

Olive oil production is a multibillion industry, with food-grade varieties subject to regulation regarding their origin and quality. In this application note, the Ocean Optics Spark spectral sensor identifies potentially damaging adulterants and dilutions in olive oil samples.

Various methods exist to assess the quality and purity of cocoa powder, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy offers the fastest and easier technique for verifying authenticity.

Fraudulent mislabeling of honey is an increasing concern, due to its high-value. NIR Spectroscopy detects known and unknown adulterants in honey, quickly and easily.

Plastic consumption is increasing across the world, with initiatives to recycle plastics opposed to discarding in landfills. Infrared offers fast and easy measurement of plastics types.

Coupling, or hyphenating, two instruments can uncover results and insights not possible with individual techniques. Explore how the power of your analysis, becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

IR Microscope can be used for the detection and identification microplastics in cosmetic products, which ultimately end up in the marine environment, affecting the human food chain.

The use of post-consumer recycled, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) has been steadily growing. Infrared technique is commonly used to identity polypropylene (PP) with is a common contaminant in post-consumer HDPE resin.

Sun Protection Factor (SPF) allows consumers to compare protection provided by sunscreens. Standardized methods properly evaluate the level of protection from UVA / UVB, and confirm label claims of their effectiveness.

Global exporting of Olive Oil is continuously growing, which poses a series of challenges by the worry of intential adulteration for financial profit or unintentional environmental contaminant. Explore the techniques for identifying contaminants.

Peak emission for silicon occurs at values beyond the range of sensitivity for silicon-based detectors, like CCDs. EMCCDs combine a larger field of view and higher resolution with high sensitivity in the NIR at lower cost.