Non-destructive on-site analysis of organic substances using a small modular spectrometer platform

A compact and cost-effective alternative to expensive benchtop devices based on line sensors

04-Apr-2024 - Compact and ultra-compact near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy systems for the evaluation of organic substances are critical to industries as diverse as food, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. On-site, non-destructive analysis provides confidence in quality control and saves time. The non-resonant ...

Checking items of clothing using a smartphone, AI and infrared spectroscopy

Also suitable for food and skin testing

06-Oct-2023 - Researchers at Fraunhofer have developed an ultra-compact near-infrared spectrometer suitable for recognizing and analyzing textiles. Mixed fabrics can also be reliably identified through the combination of imaging, special AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms and spectroscopy. The technology ...

First comparative study on automated analysis methods of large data sets in microplastics research

27-Mar-2023 - The lack of uniform analytical standards currently prevents the comparability of data on microplastics in the environment. Researchers from the University of Bayreuth and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have now, for the first time, compared two ...

Easy detection of materials

Low-cost, mobile near-infra-red spectrometer provides information about different substances

14-Jun-2021 - Sugar or sweetener? Cotton or wool? Fake or genuine? At first glance, the average consumer finds it hard to tell the substances that food or textile products actually contain. Equipment which uses infra-red measurement to identify materials can provide quick answers to these questions, though. ...

New technology to detect bitter almonds in real time

02-Feb-2021 - Who hasn't at some point been chewing on an almond and tasted an unpleasant and unexpected aftertaste that has nothing to do with the taste we are used to from one of the most consumed nuts in the world? The culprit has a name: amygdalin, a diglucoside that, when in contact with enzymes present ...

New depths in infrared nanospectroscopy

Subsurface chemical nanoidentification by nano-FTIR spectroscopy

31-Jul-2020 - Researchers from the Nanooptics Group at CIC nanoGUNE (San Sebastian) demonstrate that nanoscale infrared imaging - which is established as a surface-sensitive technique - can be employed for chemical nanoidentification of materials that are located up to 100 nm below the surface. The results ...

A pigment from ancient Egypt to modern microscopy

Research team produces new nanosheets for near infrared imaging

25-Mar-2020 - Egyptian blue is one of the oldest manmade colour pigments. It adorns, for instance, the crown of the world famous bust of Nefertiti. But the pigment can do even more. An international research team led by Dr Sebastian Kruss from the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Göttingen ...

Pocket-size food scanner

General-use, cost-effective scanning technology that can be easily adapted

07-Jan-2019 - According to a study by the environmental organization WWF Germany, ten million metric tons of food are thrown in the garbage every year in Germany despite still being edible. A mobile food scanner will allow consumers and supermarket operators in the future to test whether food items have gone ...

Rapid spectroscopic process analysis

Empowers development and control of flexible production processes

12-Jun-2018 - Global competition in the chemical industry, with increasingly dynamic markets and product cycles, requires shorter process development times and flexible and efficient production processes. By combining micro chemical engineering and spectroscopic process analysis in different spectral ranges, ...

Improving nuclear waste recycling technologies

27-Dec-2016 - Researchers from The University of Manchester have taken a major step forward by describing the quantitative modelling of the electronic structure of a family of uranium nitride compounds - a process that could in the future help with nuclear waste recycling technologies. "In this nuclear age, ...