#raman spectroscopy

[92kronus]

A science thingy I love

An interesting thing that I love from working in Spectroscopy is the fact that for certain techniques, such as with Raman Spectroscopy, you need to account for extremely unexpected sources of interference, such as cosmic rays. Even if you are using your device to analyse a blood stain on a random piece of clothing, you need to make sure  that your device has what we call a “cosmic ray remover” or there could be random errors in your results.

i.e. space doesn’t want me to be accurate and I don’t like it.

[thechildrensmuseum]

National Science Day is celebrated in India to celebrate the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir C.V. Raman. Raman spectroscopy is now widely used in medicine, biology and geology. For instance, can you tell the difference between this calcite (left) and aragonite (right) crystals? They have the same chemical formula, but different crystalline structure. Raman to the rescue!

[bpod-bpod]

Diabetes Device

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Many people suffering from diabetes need to check their blood glucose levels frequently to avoid the risk of dangerous complications such as a coma or heart attack. This means they need to prick their fingers and produce small drips of blood often multiple times a day. To make this daily chore more pleasant, and possibly eliminate it completely, researchers have developed a wearable device (shown) that uses a special laser technology called Raman spectroscopy to monitor glucose levels in the skin. In a study of healthy people whose glucose levels were tested before and at regular intervals after a glucose drink, measurements with the spectroscopy device were equally as accurate as finger prick tests. If the device can be confirmed as accurate in patients, and can be miniaturised into a continuously wearable form, it may be possible to replace finger prick tests altogether.

Today is World Diabetes Day

Written by Ruth Williams

Image from work by S.P. Singh and colleagues, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Laser Biomedical Research Center, G. R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image copyright held by the original authors

Research published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, July 2018

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

High explosives in slow motion: Freezing molecules in place shows chemical reactions

Safe and effective high explosives are critical to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) mission of stockpile stewardship. It is relatively simple to study the composition of such material before a detonation or examine the soot-like remnants afterward. But the chemistry in between, which dictates much of the detonation process, evades experimental interrogation as it passes by in a few nanoseconds or less. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and LLNL triggered a slow decomposition of a high explosive and measured the effects on the molecules within it. The work provides the proof of concept for a process that could be extended to examine ultra-fast dynamic chemistry during detonations and illuminates intermediate structures that have never been experimentally seen before.

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

Study resolves long-standing debate on low-pressure phase transitions in hafnium oxide

Researchers from the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Southwest Jiaotong University, have combined high-pressure electrical transport experiments, high-pressure Raman spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations to reveal the structural phase transition behavior of hafnium oxide (HfO2) under high pressure and its evolution mechanism in electrical properties. The paper is published in the journal Physical Review B. "This study resolves the previous controversies regarding the phase transitions of HfO2 in the low-pressure region," said Pan Xiaomei, a member of the team.

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

Deep learning streamlines identification of 2D materials

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

Scientists successfully increase measurement rate of Raman spectroscopy by 100-fold

Researchers Takuma Nakamura, Kazuki Hashimoto, and Takuro Ideguchi of the Institute for Photon Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo have increased by 100-fold the measurement rate of Raman spectroscopy, a common technique for measuring the "vibrational fingerprint" of molecules in order to identify them. As the measurement rate has been a major limiting factor, this improvement contributes to advancements in many fields that rely on identifying molecules and cells, such as biomedical diagnostics and material analytics. The findings were published in the journal Ultrafast Science.

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

High-speed camera for molecules: Entangled photons enable Raman spectroscopy

In recent years, two cutting-edge technologies have rapidly gained momentum: quantum entangled light sources and ultrafast stimulated Raman spectroscopy. Quantum entanglement is a unique phenomenon rooted in the principles of quantum mechanics, where particles exhibit instantaneous correlations over vast distances. This field has garnered significant attention in quantum communication, quantum sensing, and quantum computing, even receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022. Conversely, stimulated Raman spectroscopy represents a modern analytical method used to study molecular vibrational properties and interactions, offering valuable insights into molecular fine structure. Its applications span various domains, including chemical analysis, biomedical research, materials science, and environmental monitoring. By combining these two techniques, an exceptionally powerful analytical tool for studying complex molecular materials emerges.

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