Best of the Weeks: SciX 2025, The Quest for Universal Spectral Libraries

This week, Spectroscopy published a variety of articles highlighting recent studies in several application areas, including in-field plant monitoring, nanoparticles, and optoelectronics. Key techniques highlighted in these articles include Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Happy reading!

Monitoring Catalytic Events Using Nanoparticle Single-Level SERS

In this interview, Prashant Jain, G. L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and 2025 Clara Craver Award recipient, discusses his research on light-driven catalysis on nanoparticles. Jain highlights how illumination influence’s reaction pathways in processes such as CO₂ reduction, offering new insights into the quantum mechanical mechanisms underlying photocatalytic chemistry (1). He also reflects on his award session at the SciX Conference, which featured talks from leading researchers on topics ranging from super-resolution Raman imaging to vibrational strong coupling, underscoring the collaborative advances shaping the future of molecular spectroscopy (1).

The Quest for Universal Spectral Libraries: Standards, Metadata, and Machine Readability

This article reviews global efforts to standardize spectral libraries and metadata across vibrational, electronic, and atomic spectroscopies. It introduces a matrix-based framework for representing spectral data and metadata, enabling calibration transfer and similarity evaluation across instruments. Key standards discussed include JCAMP-DX, ANDI, and IUPAC recommendations, alongside FAIR data principles and chemical ontologies such as InChI, CHMO, and ChEBI (2). Case studies from near-infrared (NIR), Raman, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy illustrate challenges in metadata consistency and interoperability (2). The article emphasizes future directions in ontology development, automated metadata capture, AI-driven data fusion, and blockchain-based traceability toward achieving universal, interoperable spectral repositories.

Using Handheld Raman Spectroscopy for In-Field Plant Monitoring

In this interview, Renee Romano, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, discusses her research on using handheld Raman spectroscopy and machine learning to monitor fungal–plant symbioses. Her research involved developing a non-destructive method to detect biochemical markers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in tomato plants, eliminating the need for root harvesting and staining (3). Using projection to latent structures–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), she achieved approximately 70% accuracy in identifying AMF presence (3). Romano highlights the promise of Raman spectroscopy for real-time, in situ plant–microbe monitoring and emphasizes ongoing efforts to address seasonal variability and enhance data analysis sensitivity (3).

The Advantages of Raman Spectroscopy Over Biodosimetric Methods

At the SciX Conference, Spencer Witte, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, presented his research on using Raman spectroscopy for biodosimetric assessment of neutron-exposed murine hair. By analyzing spectral changes in hair keratin after irradiation, Witte demonstrated that machine learning models, partial least squares (PLS), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM), could accurately predict radiation dose and time post-exposure, with errors as low as 0.7 Gy (4). In this interview, Witte discussed how these algorithms distinguish dose-dependent and temporal spectral features, emphasizing Raman spectroscopy’s promise as a non-invasive tool for retrospective radiation exposure assessment and molecular-level biodosimetry (4).

Quantifying the Vibrational Stark Effect

In this interview, Nishadi Nadeeshani Moragoda Liyanage, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, discusses her research on how nanosphere size influences plasmon-induced electron transfer using the vibrational Stark effect (VSE). Employing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) within a nanoparticle-on-mirror geometry, Liyanage found that smaller gold nanospheres generated stronger local electric fields, producing larger VSE shifts than larger particles (5). Liyanage explains how these findings deepen understanding of nanoscale charge transfer processes and outlines strategies to refine VSE quantification by reducing interparticle effects, advancing applications in optoelectronic and catalytic nanomaterials (5).

References

1. Wetzel, W. Monitoring Catalytic Events Using Nanoparticle Single-Level SERS. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/monitoring-catalytic-events-using-nanoparticle-single-level-sers (accessed 2025-10-09)
2. Workman, Jr., J. The Quest for Universal Spectral Libraries: Standards, Metadata, and Machine Readability. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-quest-for-universal-spectral-libraries-standards-metadata-and-machine-readability (accessed 2025-10-09).
3. Wetzel, W. Using Handheld Raman Spectroscopy for In-Field Plant Monitoring. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/using-handheld-raman-spectroscopy-for-in-field-plant-monitoring (accessed 2025-10-09).
4. Wetzel, W. The Advantages of Raman Spectroscopy Over Biodosimetric Methods. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-advantages-of-raman-spectroscopy-over-biodosimetric-methods (accessed 2025-10-09).
5. Wetzel, W. Quantifying the Vibrational Stark Effect. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/quantifying-the-vibrational-stark-effect (accessed 2025-10-09).