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This year's Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award recipient is Joseph P. Smith of Merck, whose research is significantly influencing pharmaceutical process development through his work in various spectroscopic techniques, [...]

This column is the continuation of our previous column (1) that describes and explains some algorithms and data transforms beyond those most commonly used. We present and discuss algorithms that [...]

In this interview, we asked Hemanth Kumar Chanduluru from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Kattankulathur, India, multiple questions regarding sustainability in analytical separation methods. Within the context of developing chromatographic analytical methods, the concept of sustainability refers to designing methods that minimize the environmental impact while maintaining high efficiency and effectiveness in separation and analysis processes. This involves several considerations including reducing usage volume of solvents, energy efficiency, waste reduction, Green chemistry principles, and overall life cycle assessment for sustainability of the entire analytical measurement and equipment process. Along these sustainability efforts there are useful processes and metrics that may be used to objectively evaluate progress, including Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD), and up-to-date ChlorTox Scale, greenness, and whiteness score toolsets., Q Could you elaborate on how Integrative AQbD (Analytical Quality by Design) principles were applied in the development of the RP-HPLC method for simultaneous separation of triple antihypertensive combination therapy [...]

Spectroscopic analytical techniques are pivotal in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, facilitating the classification and quantification of processes and products. This review highlights very recent advancements in several key spectroscopic methods, including atomic, vibrational, molecular, electronic, and diffraction techniques. The applications of these analytical techniques in drug development, process monitoring, and quality control are discussed, showcasing their integral roles in advancing pharmaceutical sciences., Spectroscopic analytical techniques play an essential role in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, providing tools for detailed classification and quantification of processes and finished products. Among the tools used are […]

The development of an expert calibration system (ECS) for spectroscopic-based process analytical chemistry would be a significant advancement aimed at automating the creation of high-quality calibration models for standard zero-order and first-order calibrations as well as multidimensional imaging applications. The concept of ECS would seek to reduce the reliance on users' extensive knowledge of chemometrics all the while leveraging their domain knowledge and understanding of specific sample physical and chemical properties. By providing automated tools and guidance, an ECS would aim to streamline the calibration process, improve calibration transfer, enhance operator efficiency, and improve the overall consistency and reliability of analytical results produced using advanced chemometrics and machine earning techniques. In this article, we resurrect the discussion from nearly three decades ago., At the 1995 Instrument Society of America (ISA) Conference in Toronto, Canada, there was a paper presented and published entitled, 'The Design of an Expert Calibration System for Spectroscopic Based […]

William Frederick Meggers, honored as the Dean of American Spectroscopists by the US National Bureau of Standards (NBS), dedicated over five decades of his career to NBS, which later became the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 1988 under the United States Department of Commerce. Throughout his extensive tenure, spanning over half a century, Meggers made significant contributions to the fields of spectroscopy, atomic physics, and photographic techniques. Retiring officially at the age of 70 in 1958 as Chief of the Spectroscopy Section of the NBS organization, his impact endured. He was notably recognized as the first recipient of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy Gold Medal and remains immortalized through the Meggers Award, an annual accolade bestowed for the most outstanding paper published in the journal Applied Spectroscopy., William Frederick Meggers, born on July 13, 1888, in Clintonville, Wisconsin, a small town with a population of approximately 1450 at the time, spent his formative years immersed in academic [...]

Ellis R. Lippincott is one of the most influential spectroscopists of the past 100 years. He has been a notable research figure in molecular spectra and structure studies using infrared and Raman spectroscopy; in the study of potential energy functions, including hydrogen bonding; and in the invention and study of high pressure spectroscopic studies using the high-pressure diamond anvil cell. He also has applied spectroscopic techniques and analysis to the study of planetary atmospheres, to biochemistry, and to chemical lasers., Ellis Ridgeway Lippincott, born on July 6, 1920, in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, emerged as a key figure in the field of chemistry and spectroscopy. His distinguished career, in collaboration with [...]

Peter Griffiths was born and raised in England, spending the first 25 years of his life there. His formal education includes a BA in 1964 and DPhil in physical chemistry [...]

In this column and its successor, we describe and explain some algorithms and data transforms beyond those commonly used. We present and discuss algorithms that are rarely, if ever, used [...]

Wolfgang F. Lindner and Martina Catani are the winners of the 17th Annual LCGC Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Leader in Chromatography Awards, respectively. These awards honor the work of talented separation scientists at different stages in their career. The award winners will be honored in March in an oral symposium at the Pittcon 2024 conference in San Diego, California., The Lifetime Achievement Award Wolfgang Lindner is the 2024 Lifetime Achievement in Chromatography Award recipient. The award honors an outstanding and seasoned professional for a lifetime of contributions to the [...]

This year's Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award recipient is Eduardo Bolea-Fernandez. For the past decade, Bolea-Fernandez's research has focused on the development of a newly introduced technique, termed tandem ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS), for ultra-trace elemental and isotopic analysis. He has also worked on the topic of high-precision isotopic analysis of mercury (Hg) using cold-vapor generation multi-collector ICP-MS instrumentation. His most recent work involves research in the context of single-event ICP-MS, a novel method of ICP-MS operation enabling the characterization of nanoparticles and individual cells. Moreover, he demonstrated for the first time ever that this approach can also be used for the characterization of microplastics by relying on their carbon content, a topic that is receiving significant attention., Eduardo Bolea-Fernandez of the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the MARTE research unit of the University of Zaragoza in Spain has won the 2024 Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award, [...]

In this column, we examine a variation of the MLR algorithm that reduces sensitivity to repack variations in the special case that the absorbance at all wavelengths used in the [...]

This year's Emerging Leader in Molecular Spectroscopy Award recipient is Dmitry Kurouski, an assistant professor of chemistry at the Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. From his early research days as a graduate student at State University of New York in Albany, Kurouski's research has emphasized the development and application of innovative Raman spectroscopy methods for non-invasive, nondestructive analyses of biological materials., Dmitry Kurouski is an assistant professor of chemistry at Texas A&M University who has made significant contributions to the field of molecular spectroscopy. His groundbreaking work has earned him the [...]

Jerome Workman, Jr. and Howard Mark In Part I (February 2023) of this two-part series on artificial intelligence (AI), and its subfield machine learning (ML), we presented the variety of [...]

Arthur William Springsteen, a luminary in the field of spectroscopy, died on May 28, 2024. His contributions to spectroscopic standards were unparalleled, making him a revered figure in this complex [...]

Artificial intelligence (AI), and its subfield machine learning (ML), are major buzzwords in today's technology world. In a two-part series, let's begin to take a look under the hood and behind the scenes to see what Al is and its applicability to analytical chemistry and spectroscopy for future discussion and elaboration. What are the benefits and limitations, as well as the praises and detractions, of AI? How does AI relate to chemometrics?, As with any modeling technique, it might serve us well to remember Robert A. Heinlein's reference: 'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch (TANSTAAFL)' (1), and supercalibratestatisticexpedientalgohthmadnauseous, a [...]

Peter Schoenmakers and Emanuela Gionfriddo are the winners of the 16th annual LCGC Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Leader in Chromatography Awards, respectively. The LCGC Awards honor the work of leading [...]

This year's Atomic Spectroscopy Award recipient is Andreas Riedo. For the past decade, Riedo's research has focused on the development of fundamental measurement methodologies using miniaturized laser ablation-desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LIMS or LMS) for the chemical (elements, isotopes, and molecules) analysis of complex mineral surfaces, including semiconductor crystalline solids and materials found in space exploration., Andreas Riedo of the Physics Institute at the University of Bern has won the 2023 Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award, which is presented by Spectroscopy magazine. This annual award, [...]

In this Part 4 survey article describing instrument services and testing, we look into spectroscopy electronics, including printed circuit board (PCB) design and manufacturing, a description of spectroscopy instrument design [...]

The dichotomy created by the advent of computers and brought up by the title of this column was a major quandary in the early days of the computer revolution, causing [...]

In this part 3 of our four-part spectroscopy components survey article, we take a closer look at the special components and terms used in atomic spectroscopy instrumentation for inductively coupled [...]

This year's molecular spectroscopy award recipient is Lu Wei, an assistant professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. From her days as a graduate student [...]

Jerome Workman, Jr. is the Senior Technical Editor for Spectroscopy. Direct correspondence about this article to jworkman@mjhlifesciences.com In this second part of this four-part series on spectroscopy instrument components, we [...]

Astronomers use the term 'first light' to indicate the first use of a telescope to observe the night sky. Here, we use the term 'last light' as a play on words akin to 'last word' to introduce a regular feature covering some of the latest and most interesting developments in spectroscopy., Fluorescence interference is a well-known issue in Raman spectroscopy, especially with colored and mineral samples. Techniques to avoid or mitigate fluorescence, such as long-wavelength excitation and time-gating, have been explored, [...]

Organofluorine compounds are potential contaminants in the environment, particularly in natural water sources. Leo W. Y. Yeung, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Science and Technology of [...]

An instrument generally measures the spectrum of a sample, and produces that spectrum, in a particular way. It also saves (or stores) that spectrum according to prespecified instructions designated by the manufacturer. But the data themselves, their format, or the way they are presented, may not be optimal from the user's point of view, as the decisions a manufacturer makes are inevitably done in the absence of user input, despite efforts to include user or third-party evaluations. Furthermore, different users have different requirements, so it's rare when all users want to avail themselves of the same type of data processed the same way. To satisfy the need for users to convert raw data produced by an instrument into a form more suitable for their particular needs, instrument manufacturers, as well as independent third-party software developers, include software packages that convert the raw data into other forms to address, it is hoped, many users' needs., This column (and perhaps the next one or two) is based on the talk given at the Gold Medal Award symposium held during the 2020 Eastern Analytical Symposium. In the [...]

Barry L. Karger and James P. Grinias are the winners of the 15th annual LCGC Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Leader in Chromatography Awards, respectively. The LCGC Awards honor the work [...]

This year's atomic spectroscopy award recipient is Denise M. Mitrano, whose research is focused on the application of atomic spectroscopy techniques--inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and single-particle ICP-MS (splCP-MS)--to elucidate the transport and impact of engineered nanomaterials and nano-and microplastics under environmental and synthetic conditions., Denise M. Mitrano is Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry of Anthropogenic Materials at ETH Zurich, in the Department of Environmental Systems Science. Her research is directed to understanding the impact [...]

Bhavya Sharma is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Her research focuses on neurochemical detection with various forms of Raman spectroscopy, including surface-enhanced Raman [...]

Inductively-coupled plasmaoptical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are often considered mature techniques, but researchers know that some aspects of the techniques are still not fully understood. Probing the [...]

This installment, and the next one, comprise lists of four key explanatory or tutorial references for each of 29 chemometric topics described in a previous article, with the addition of programming platforms often used for chemometrics. The references are selected as being particularly helpful to explain the use of each technique with spectroscopic data whenever possible. This reference list cannot be exhaustive, due to space limitations, but it is extensive and comprehensive. Included is a series of tables listing the key reference numbers for each chemometric technique., The August 2020 installment of the 'Chemometrics in Spectroscopy' column was entitled, 'Survey of Chemometric Methods Used in Spectroscopy' (1). In that article, we delineated 29 common chemometric methods (or [...]

This year's Atomic Spectroscopy Award recipient is L. Robert Baker, whose research focuses on time-resolved, ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy and nonlinear optics for understanding interfacial charge transfer and chemical reactions at surfaces., L. Robert Baker is an associate professor at The Ohio State University in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. His research focuses on ultrafast, time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy and nonlinear optics [...]

Inductively coupled plasmaoptical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are often considered mature techniques, but researchers know that some aspects of the techniques are still not fully understood. Probing the mechanisms involved can lead to more accurate results that, in some cases, may cast doubt on accepted explanations. John W. Olesik, who directs the Trace Element Research Laboratory (TERL) in the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University, has spent many years studying the processes that control signals in ICP techniques, and yet he is still encountering surprises. He is also in a unique position to get involved in exciting applied research, because the TERL also provides elemental analysis and access to ICP-OES and ICP-MS instruments to groups throughout the university as well as to clients and collaborators outside Ohio State--leading to all sorts of collaborations. We recently interviewed him about his recent research and career. This is the first part of a two-part interview series., You have reported on single-particle inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (spiCP-MS) for routine analysis of nanomaterials (I). This technique is being used for the detection and characterization of metal-containing nanomaterials in [...]

Last year was undoubtedly a year of significant challenges and change--Covid-19, working from home, masks, social distancing, and virtual connections to laboratories and conferences. This year's Spectroscopy salary and employment survey explores the impact on spectroscopic scientists from around the world and their reactions, responses, and outlook., As always, we report on overall salary trends and how they compare to past years, referring all the way back to the 2001 survey. But unlike previous reports about Spectroscopy [...]