When samples are very small, how do you ignore irrelevant information? A technique called tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) uses a sharp metal tip in the laser beam focus to localize Raman excitation to a tiny area. Researchers used the method to investigate single-walled carbon nanotubes doped with organic molecules.

Among the products introduced at Pittcon is the Nicolet iS 10 FT-IR spectrometer, powered by OMNIC Specta software. The software dramatically simplifies frequency spectrum interpretation. It also incorporates Spectral Performance Verification (SPV), which monitors the spectrometer accuracy and performance on a regular basis.

To better understand viruses and other microbes, we need three-dimensional images with atomic (or at least near-atomic) resolution. A newly developed method, single-particle electron cryomicroscopy, recently provided a 3D image of a virus with an unprecedented resolution of 4.5 Angstroms. A paper detailing the work was published in Nature.

Fluorescence imaging is tremendously useful for biological experiments. But some light levels are so low that obtaining an image takes a long time. An article in Bio Optics World describes how frequency-domain fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) systems obtain images in seconds, versus the minute-plus needed with time-domain FLIM.

Equipment for analyzing the content of biodiesel introduced at Pittcon includes the EcoAnalytix Biodiesel Glycerin and Methanol Analyzer. The gas chromatograph analyzes glycerin and residual alcohol in biodiesel. Two biodiesel-analysis spectrometers were also introduced: one for measuring trace metals, and an FTIR model for measuring fatty acid methyl esters.

Antibiotics can save people infected by anthrax if given quickly. But how can we tell if the drugs enter the bloodstream soon enough, and stay there long enough to inhibit the deadly microbe? Chromatography Online describes using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to answer those questions.

Instrument calibration is difficult, but key to many applications. As microlithography features shrink and Nanotechnology advances, calibration of instruments that make the tiniest machines becomes increasingly important. Speakers at the SPIE's Advanced Lithography Conference suggest that new standards and references may be needed. How will the industry handle sample-to-sample and machine-to-machine variations?

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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology had an unusual challenge. In a novel electronic device formed by organic molecules and silicon, how could they find out whether current was flowing through or around a junction? They used inelastic electron-tunneling spectroscopy to look inside a molecular junction.

Spectroscopists in Their Cups

The fiery alcoholic drink, ouzo, is clear. So is water. But when you mix them, the combination turns white almost instantly. Other mixtures like salad dressing form similar emulsions, but usually only in the presence of surfactants. Researchers in France are studying the ouzo effect using diffusion ordered spectroscopy and total correlation spectroscopy experiments, to see if it can be harnessed in drug formulations, food products, and cosmetics applications.

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