Spectroscopy News and Research

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Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between radiation (electromagnetic radiation, or light, as well as particle radiation) and matter.

Fluorescent nanoparticles open up new possibilities for cellular imaging

Scientists from the University of Twente, the Netherlands, have successfully exploited the optical properties of fluorescent nanoparticles to broaden the scope of single-cell microscopy.

9 May 2007

MR spectroscopy of choline levels shows promise as a marker of fetal lung maturity

The researchers performed high resolution MRS on 15 amniotic fluid samples for evaluation of fetal lung maturity between 34 and 40 weeks gestation and were analyzed using trimethysilylpropionic acid (TSP) as a reference standard.

8 May 2007

Relationship found between DNA nanomechanics and damage

It has long been known that UV light can damage DNA, reducing its ability to replicate and interact with proteins, and often resulting in the development of skin cancers.

25 Apr 2007

Scientists film proteins at work by freezing them at different states

It is difficult to find similarities between Grenoble and Hollywood or between the researchers at the ESRF and the Institut de Biologie Structural (IBS) and world-known filmmakers.

20 Apr 2007

New, potentially more accurate method for diagnosing breast cancer

By combining two techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared optics, researchers at Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School may have devised a new, potentially more accurate method for diagnosing breast cancer.

14 Apr 2007

UT Metroplex institutions to collaborate on biomedical research

Researchers from the three University of Texas campuses in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area are combining their expertise in biomedical science, engineering and physical sciences on projects aimed at solving real-world medical problems.

5 Apr 2007

Raman spectroscopy for faster body-fluid tests

University of Rochester researchers announce in the current issue of Applied Optics a technique that in 60 seconds or less measures multiple chemicals in body fluids, using a laser, white light, and a reflective tube.

4 Apr 2007

New procedure to estimate reproductive potential of individual embryos

To address the high rate of multiple births resulting from in-vitro-fertilization (IVF), researchers at Yale School of Medicine and McGill University have developed a procedure that estimates the reproductive potential of individual embryos, possibly leading to a decrease in multiple-infant births and a higher success rate in women undergoing IVF.

19 Mar 2007

Perfluorocarbon nanoparticles track living cells

Stem cell therapy, primarily bone marrow transplantation, plays a key role in treating leukemia and other types of cancer.

26 Feb 2007

How DNA is packed

The life cycles of many viruses include a self-assembly stage in which a powerful molecular motor must pack the DNA genome into the virus's preformed shell (the capsid). How it manages this intricate feat has been subject to debate, but we know that the DNA passes into the capsid shell through a channel formed by a structure called the connector. Scientists have speculated that rotation of the connector complex might feed the DNA into the capsid as it turns.

20 Feb 2007

Bright quantum dots help basic cancer biology studies

Though there is little doubt that nanoscale devices are going to play a critical role in improving cancer detection and treatment over the next five to ten years, nanoparticles are already having a major impact on the way that cancer biologists study the processes that go awry within malignant and metastatic cells.

5 Feb 2007

Probing proteins can lead to better understanding of anti-tumor agents

There are a number of naturally occurring chemicals that are used in phototherapy of skin diseases. Hypocrellin A (HA), which can be extracted from a parasitic fungus, has been taken orally as a folk medicine for several centuries in China.

29 Jan 2007

New understanding of cholera pathogen

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered new details about how bacteria generate energy to live. In two recently published papers, the scientists add key specifics to the molecular mechanism behind the pathogen that causes cholera.

29 Jan 2007

Molecular mechanism behind aggregation of amyloid beta peptide due to anesthetics

Inhaled anesthetics commonly used in surgery are more likely to cause the aggregation of Alzheimer's disease-related plaques in the brain than intravenous anesthetics say University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in a journal article published in Biochemistry.

28 Jan 2007

Nanoscale "egg" to deliver platinum to tumor cells

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a nanoscale "egg" that could safely deliver platinum, a known anticancer agent, to tumor cells.

22 Jan 2007

Surface analysis of stents

The fastest growing market for surface analysis techniques is in the development and manufacture of vascular stents.

16 Jan 2007

In vivo biodistribution and highly efficient tumour targeting of carbon nanotubes in mice

In the first experiment of its kind, investigators at the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response (CCNE-TR), based at Stanford University, have shown that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) wrapped in poly(ethylene glycol), or PEG, can successfully target tumors in living animals.

8 Jan 2007

Biofunctional organic nanocrystals for quantitative detection of pathogen deoxyribonucleic acid

Waiting a day or more to get lab results back from the doctor's office soon could become a thing of a past.

4 Dec 2006

High throughput quantification of protein expression of cancer antigens in tissue microarray using quantum dot nanocrystals

In attempt to identify biological markers, or biomarkers, that can signal the presence of cancer and help oncologists determine the best course of therapy when cancer is present, teams of investigators are scouring stored tissue samples obtained from thousands of cancer patients.

4 Dec 2006

MRI technology breaks new ground in molecular imaging

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have developed a new technique for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that allows for detection of signals from molecules present at 10,000 times lower concentrations than conventional MRI techniques.

6 Nov 2006