Spectroscopy Interviews

As a preview to SciX 2023, Spectroscopy magazine sat down with Juergen Popp of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology to ask him about his research exploring the use of Raman spectroscopy in applications such as infectious diseases and cancer diagnostics.

The Coblentz Society created the Clara Craver Award to recognize young individuals who have made significant contributions in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. The work may include any aspect of infrared (IR), terahertz (THz), or Raman spectroscopy in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy. This year’s recipient, Ishan Barman, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University with joint appointments in Oncology and Radiology and Radiological Science.

The AES Lifetime Achievement Award is given for exceptional career contributions to the fields of electrophoresis, electrokinetics, and related areas. This year’s recipient, James Landers of the University of Virginia, recently published (along with his colleagues) a paper illustrating a technique for fabricating electrophoretic microdevices for fluorescence detection.

Earlier this year, Spectroscopy spoke to Maria Montes-Bayón of the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Oviedo (Asturias, Spain) regarding her work with single cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study the uptake and apoptotic status of nanoplatinum (IV) treated cells, specifically selenized yeast.

Bruno Pagano, full Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Naples Federico II (Italy), and his team have turned to UV resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy to better understand these interactions. Spectroscopy spoke to Prof. Pagano about his work and the potential of UVRR spectroscopy as a valuable tool for studying G-quadruplex structures in biologically relevant conditions.

Spectroscopy spoke with Montes-Bayón of the University of Oviedo about her work with single cell ICP-MS to study the uptake and apoptotic status nanoplatinum treated cells.

Arzak Mohamed from Macquarie University in Australia broke down how she uses spectroscopy to analyze ancient manuscripts.

Editor Patrick Lavery of Spectroscopy talked to two co-authors of a study that analyzed information about a 300,000-year-old wooden hunting stick found in modern-day Germany.

The study of exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system, is becoming increasingly important in space exploration. Scientists are working to characterize these planets and Raman spectroscopy is playing a key role. Andrew Mattioda, a research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, is on the front lines of this research.

LCGC and Spectroscopy magazines recently welcomed Caroline Hroncich to lead their joint editorial staff in print and online. In this interview, Hroncich talks with editor Patrick Lavery about her experience and what readers can expect for the future.

Single-cell ICP-MS was used to study the uptake and apoptotic status of nanoplatinum (IV) treated cells, specifically selenized yeast, and the question of using commercialized reference material to validate single cell ICP-MS analysis is addressed.

We interviewed an AI program (ChatGPT) for Spectroscopy asking questions about AI and its role in various applications for vibrational and atomic spectroscopy, including data analysis.

Gary McGeorge, Scientific Director at Bristol-Myers Squibb, spoke to us of the benefits and challenges associated with establishment of consistent resolutions while facilitating the steps associated with the implementation of process analytical technology (PAT).

ICP-MS was used to measure 46 different elements in 37 Azobé (Lophira alata) trees at two forest sites in Cameroon to determine the multi-elemental composition of trees in an effort to combat the illegal trade of timber.

Although milk is considered among the most complete and nutrition-rich natural foods, the concentration of vitamins and minerals in milk can vary depending on a variety of circumstances. Stelios Couris of the University of Patras and the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (Patras, Greece) has been studying the inorganic elemental composition of a variety of milk samples using LIBS and spoke to Spectroscopy about this research.

Combining multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (MCARS) microscopy with automated data processing enables a simple and more accessible method for label-free bioimaging.

Glycoproteins are becoming popular in the pharmaceutical industry, prompting the need for an effective spectroscopic technique that can differentiate them. SERS is one such technique ideal for glycan analysis for several key reasons, which are discussed here.

Recently, at the 2022 SciX conference in Covington, Kentucky, Beatriz Fernandez, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Oviedo in Spain, presented, as part of the Technical Program, a discussion regarding the determination of proteins in single cells by ICP-MS using metal nanoclusters as labels of specific recognition reactions. Fernandez spoke to Spectroscopy about her presentation.

Harishchandra Singh, Graham King and associates have employed high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction (HE-SXRD) experiments and an analytical model in order to predict the yield strength of cerium-modified super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) subjected to various cold- and cryo-deformation. Spectroscopy recently had the opportunity to discuss the experiments and the findings with Singh and King.

In the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), a contagious disease that causes 1.5 million deaths per year globally, early diagnosis is critical in order to control its spread. Unfortunately, standard tuberculosis diagnostic tests, such as sputum culture, can take days to weeks to yield results. In a recent paper, Ubaid Ullah of the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering in Pakistan and his colleagues demonstrate a quick, portable, easy-to-use, and non-invasive optical sensor based on sputum samples for tuberculosis detection using Raman spectroscopy to detect TB in a patient’s sputum supernatant. Ullah spoke to Spectroscopy about this sensor and its development.

Some macrofungal species are known for their ability to accumulate high concentrations of mercury in their fruit bodies. A recent paper by Simone Braeuer and colleagues of the University of Graz (Austria) and Ghent University (Belgium) discusses an efficient method developed for quantitative mapping of mercury and selenium in mushroom fruit bodies via laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry with excellent limits of detection and high spatial resolution (down to 5 µm). Braeuer spoke to Spectroscopy about this paper.

Karen Faulds of the University of Strathclyde co-authored a paper where SESORS signals could be detected from nanotags at depths down to 48 mm for the first time using a handheld spatially offset Raman (SORS) instrument. She recently spoke to Spectroscopy about this and some of her other papers and the advances in the science that made them possible. Faulds is the 2022 recipient of the RSC Analytical Division Mid-Career Award. This interview is part of an ongoing series of interviews with the winners of awards that are presented at the annual SciX conference, which will be held this year from October 2 through October 7, in Covington, Kentucky.

James Piret, and Robin Turner, of Michael Smith Laboratories (Vancouver, BC Canada) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have been exploring the benefits of extracting and displaying correlated spectrometric and non-spectrometric variables with a proposed method called multisource correlation analysis (MuSCA). Their work has uncovered several advantages of using Raman spectroscopy for these applications. Here, they discuss their efforts to develop an approach that permitted the integration of diverse biochemical information with measured spectra for co-analysis to characterize the spectra and take advantage of the available spectral information.

Wei Min, of the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University in New York City, and his associates recently published a paper outlining their devising a set of multiplexed Raman molecular probes with sharp and mutually resolvable Raman peaks to simultaneously quantify cell surface proteins, endocytosis activities, and metabolic dynamics of an individual live cell. Min, who recently spoke to us about this work, is the 2022 recipient of the Craver Award, presented annually at FACSS SciX to recognize the efforts of young professional spectroscopists that have made significant contributions in applied analytical vibrational spectroscopy.

Igor Gornushkin and colleagues at BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Berlin, Germany studied the feasibility of using optical spectroscopy as a control method for laser metal deposition, and he recently spoke to us about this work. Gornushkin is the 2022 recipient of the Lester W. Strock Award from the New England Chapter of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS).

Noureddine Melikechi of the Department of Physics and Applied Physics at the University of Massachusetts (Lowell, MA) saw an urgent need for the development of an untargeted and unbiased method to distinguish Gulf War illness (GWI) patients from non-GWI patients; he and his associates utilized laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in their efforts to meet that need.

Spray paint is often used by vandals for creating graffiti, as well as for criminals to leave signs, messages, and blots to conceal the left traces at the scene of their efforts. Rajinder Singh and his colleagues in the Department of Forensic Science at Punjabi University (Punjab, India) have used attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FT-IR) spectroscopy for nondestructive analysis of 20 red spray paints of different manufacturers, which could possibly be encountered at a crime scene, particularly in case of vandalism. Singh spoke to Spectroscopy about the findings, and the paper that resulted from their efforts.

Mohamed Abdel-Harith of Cairo University and his team explored using BRELIBS for the elemental analysis of the synagogue’s glass shards. Their findings reveal the potential of BRELIBS in conducting elemental analysis on transparent materials. Spectroscopy recently spoke to Abdel-Harith about this work.

Meat fraud has emerged as a growing concern globally. The adulteration, substitution, or mislabeling of meat products has resulted in negative economic effects, such as unfair competition in the global marketplace, as well as ethical concerns, because consumers want to know what is in the meat they are consuming. Ismail H. Boyaci of Hacettepe University and his team have explored using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for protein-based analysis and the identification of meat species. Spectroscopy recently spoke to Boyaci about this work.

Determining the quality of the food we consume is important not just for reasons of safety, but for verifying authenticity as well. Changmou Xu, a Research Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and his colleagues have been exploring methods for food analysis that are rapid but do not harm the environment or the analysts.