Biological mass spectrometry is an important analytical technique in drug discovery, proteomics, and research at the biology-chemistry interface. Currently, few hands-on opportunities exist for undergraduate students to learn about this technique. With the 2002 Nobel Prize being awarded, in part, for the development of biological mass…

An advanced undergraduate chemistry laboratory experiment to study the advantages and hazards of the coupling of NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics is described. The combination is commonly used for analysis and process control of various ingredients used in agriculture, petroleum and food products.

The changes that have taken place in the organic chemistry laboratory course since 1980s are reviewed with reference to the quantity and diversity of discovery-based experiments available to date. The data illustrates that significant progress is towards accomplishing dramatic changes such as the almost universal adoption of microscale, the use of…

An exercise is described that has illustrated the effect of various factors on [pi] backbonding to carbonyl ligands, where the students can view the molecular orbitals corresponding to the M-CO [pi] interaction as well as the competing interaction between the metal and co-ligands. The visual and hands-on nature of the modeling exercise has helped…

An experiment is designed where students will be using both gold and silver nanoparticles to study the enhancement factors of organic molecules adsorbed to the surface of the nanoparticles during or after synthesis by using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The experiment has helped students learn about the theory and experimental…

Digital versatile disks (DVDs) have successfully made up an inexpensive but high-resolution spectroscope suitable for classroom experiments that can easily be made with common material and gives clear and fine spectra of various light sources and colored material. The observed spectra can be photographed with a digital camera, and such images can…

Discusses: (1) the design of the Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectrometer; (2) the computation of the spectrum from the interferogram; and (3) the use of apodization. (Part II will discuss advantages of FT-IR over dispersive techniques and show applications of FT-IR to difficult spectroscopic measurements.) (JN)

Reviews literature on Raman spectroscopy from late 1981 to late 1983. Topic areas include: instrumentation and sampling; liquids and solutions; gases and matrix isolation; biological molecules; polymers; high-temperature and high-pressure studies; Raman microscopy; thin films and surfaces; resonance-enhanced and surface-enhanced spectroscopy; and…

Explores some of the principles behind the working of fluorescent bulbs using a specially prepared fluorescent bulb with the white inner fluorescent coating applied along only half its length. Discusses the spectrum, the bulb plasma, and light production. (JRH)

The increase in NMR relaxation rates as a result of dissolved paramagnetic species on the sample of superoxygenated drinking water is demonstrated. It is concluded that oxygen content in NMR samples is an important issue and can give rise to various problems in the interpretation of both spectroscopic and NMR imaging or relaxation experiments.

A survey of progress made over the past ~30 years (1970 - 2004) to improve the reliability of surface analyses by XPS is presented. The basic principles of XPS are very simple yet there is considerable complexity in designing experiments, interpreting data, and analyzing the results for the many different modes of operation and many different…

The development of XPS as an effective method for surface analysis during the period 1964-1977 is presented. The study shows that unlike other surface methods, XPS data can be obtained for both conductors and insulators and a variety of samples can be handled effectively, which is one of the major reasons for the popularity of the technique.

Industrial application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis is a powerful technique that could be used to elucidate components of a complex mixture while offering the benefits of high-precision quantitative analysis. The natural wintergreen oil is examined for its phenol concentration to determine the level of refining…

Near-infrared spectroscopy is currently used to assess changes in the oxygen saturation of the muscle during exercise. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of near-infrared spectroscopy in determining muscle oxygen saturation (StO[subscript 2]) in the vastus lateralis during cycling and the gastrocnemius during running…

An examination of the two proteins, namely, cytochrome c from horse and cow is conducted and it is indicated that cytochrome c is a mitochondrial protein. Mitochondria multiply by cell division and do not undergo sexual reproduction and mitochondria DNA is passed on via the mitochondria that are inherited from the female parent organism.