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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted great attention for their potential use in many applications because of their intrinsic properties. The importance other than the impact of the application of CNT-embedded membranes in the area of water technology development is immense. In this context, the identification and quantification of CNTs in aqueous resources during relevant water purification processes can be proven of high significance. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) potentially has the sensitivity required for trace analysis and has been previously used for CNT identification on solid substrates. A thorough study for the identification and quantification of small concentrations of multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) in water suspensions via SERS has been performed. The functionalization of MWCNTs with pyridine groups seems to favor the surface enhancement of relevant Raman signal. This study constitutes the first step of a work in progress for the characterization of CNTs at quite low concentration range by SERS in any water suspension. It is based on an ex ante functionalization of the CNTs by pyridine, demonstrating the potential of the method. Our long-term aim is its general application built, however, in an ex post relevant functionalization of the CNTs in any aqueous solution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) is introduced as a new method to probe the initial release of active agents from controlled delivery systems. As a model system, mitoxantrone-loaded polypropylene specimens immersed in water have been utilized. Surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) measurements allowed the quantitative delineation of the initial drug release profile. SERRS was also compared in early stage release processes with UV-vis absorption often used in traditional quantitative analysis via HPLC, a common technique for controlled release evaluation. More and above the high selectivity of the Raman Effect, SERS has been proved as a highly sensitive method to quantitatively monitor the initial release of the medicine even at the very early stage of the delivery process; UV-vis absorbance was unable to respond accordingly. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]