Raman spectroscopy provides a critical characterization tool in analytical chemistry. This book presents the fundamentals of raman spectroscopy outside the focus of physics to offer an accessible guide to scientists working in the broad area of soft materials. The book is organized into four sections with the first devoted to an introduction to Raman spectroscopy which includes scattering theory and instrumentation. The following sections are devoted to application areas including polymers and colloids, food science, drug delivery, defense, and medical.
The importance of soft matter research, as a major class of materials including liquid crystals, polymers, colloids, emulsions, and forms, is attributed to the behavior resemblances in each branch of soft matter responding to the external perturbations. Hence, one of the most required inquiries in soft matter physics is understanding how the structures with characteristic length scales evolve in response to external perturbations, and concomitant phase transitions. We have focused on adopting polarized Raman spectroscopy to probe phase transitions in soft materials consisting of anisometric components and the evolution of molecular orientational ordering as a complementary tool to other methodologies, but distinct in some respects. The primary task is quantifying the degree of molecular orientation, i.e., obtaining orientational order parameters, in liquid crystal (LCs) system. Thermal evolution of orientation degree in a hitherto elusive biaxial nematic (Nb) phase as well as a commonly known uniaxial nematic (Nu) phase were interrogated from the measurements of anisotropy in polarized Raman intensities. We demonstrated reliable and applicable method to quantify the orientation degree for systems possessing anisotropic ordering. We also addressed a strong potential of Raman spectroscopy that the changes of vibrational energy reflect the variations of intermolecular interactions and structural changes on the molecular level induced by phase transitions. As a subfield of soft matter, we characterized phase transitions and anisotropic ordering observed in an evaporating conjugated polymer solution and elucidated the mechanism of the entities undergoing phase transitions using mainly polarized Raman spectroscopy. In addition, we have shown that tracking Raman spectral changes can provide valuable information for understanding structure-property relations when the measurements of the evolution in physical properties are carried out simultaneously.
This new handbook covers the world of biophotonics not only geographically -- with the editors coming from different continents -- but also in terms of content, since the authors come from the whole spectrum of biophotonic basic and applied research. Designed to set the standard for the scientific community, these three volumes break new ground by providing readers with the physics basics as well as the biological and medical background, together with detailed reports on recent technical advances. The Handbook also adopts an application-related approach, starting with the application and then citing the various tools to solve the scientific task, making it of particular value to medical doctors. Divided into several sections, the first part offers introductory chapters on the different fields of research, with subsequent parts focusing on the applications and techniques in various fields of industry and research. The result is a handy source for scientists seeking the basics in a condensed form, and equally a reference for quickly gathering the knowledge from neighboring disciplines. Absolutely invaluable for biophotonic scientists in their daily work.
The book explores the phenomenon of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), the huge amplification of Raman signal from molecules in the proximity of a metallic nanostructured surface, allowing readers to gain an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms affecting the spectroscopic response of SERS-active systems for effective applications. SERS spectroscopy is an ultrasensitive analytical technique with great potential for applications in the field of biophysics and nanomedicine. As examples, the author presents the design of nanocolloid-based SERS-active substrates for molecular sensing and of a folate-based SERS-active nanosensor capable of selectively interacting with cancer cells, enabling cancer diagnostics and therapy at the single-cell level. The author also suggests novel paths for the systematization of the SERS nanosystem design and experimental protocols to maximize sensitivity and reproducibility, which is essential when real-world biomedical applications are the goal of the study. With a combined approach, both fundamental and applied, and a detailed analysis of the state of the art, this book provides a valuable overview both for students new to SERS spectroscopy and for experts in the field.
'The overall book content is excellently coordinated to form a synchronised story, interesting to a broad scientific audience … The book summarises the present knowledge in the field, introduces fundamental concepts to the beginners, describes key measuring methods and presents several different typical demonstrative systems, some of them exhibiting an extraordinary rich spectrum of structures and superstructures. I am sure that with time the book will become an attractor to a broad audience (physicists, chemists, material scientists, engineers, etc.), ranging from students, beginners in the field to experienced researchers. To summarise, this is the book that I have been missing on my bookshelf.'Liquid Crystals TodayWhile liquid crystals are today widely known for their successful application in flat panel displays (LCDs), academic liquid crystal research is more and more targeting situations where these anisotropic fluids are put to completely different use, in varying contexts. A particularly strong focus is on colloidal liquid crystals, where particles, bubbles or drops are dispersed in a liquid crystal phase. The liquid crystal can act as a host phase, with the inclusions constituting foreign guests that disturb the local order in interesting ways, often resulting in large-scale positional arrangement and/or uniform alignment of the guests. But it may also be formed by solid particles themselves, if these are of nanoscale dimensions and of disc- or rod-shape, and if they are suspended in an isotropic liquid host at sufficient concentration.This book aims to cover both the modern research tracks, gathering pioneering researchers of the different subfields to give a concise overview of the basis as well as the prospects of their respective specialties. The scope spans from curiosity-driven fundamental scientific research to applied sciences. Over the course of the next decade, the former is likely to generate new tracks of the latter type, considering the exploratory and productive phase of this young research field.
This book shows the electronic, optical and lattice-vibration properties of the two-dimensional materials which are revealed by the Raman spectroscopy. It consists of eleven chapters covering various Raman spectroscopy techniques (ultralow-frequency, resonant Raman spectroscopy, Raman imaging), different kinds of two-dimensional materials (in-plane isotropy and anisotropy materials, van der Waals heterostructures) and their physical properties (double-resonant theory, surface and interface effect). The topics include the theory origin, experimental phenomenon and advanced techniques in this area. This book is interesting and useful to a wide readership in various fields of condensed matter physics, materials science and engineering.
Statistics is a key characteristic that assists a wide variety of professions including business, government, and factual sciences. Companies need data calculation to make informed decisions that help maintain their relevance. Design of experiments (DOE) is a set of active techniques that provides a more efficient approach for industries to test their processes and form effective conclusions. Experimental design can be implemented into multiple professions, and it is a necessity to promote applicable research on this up-and-coming method. Design of Experiments for Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Food, and Industrial Applications is a pivotal reference source that seeks to increase the use of design of experiments to optimize and improve analytical methods and productive processes in order to use less resources and time. While highlighting topics such as multivariate methods, factorial experiments, and pharmaceutical research, this publication is ideally designed for industrial designers, research scientists, chemical engineers, managers, academicians, and students seeking current research on advanced and multivariate statistics.
In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in the use of vibrational spectroscopic methods for diagnosis and screening. These applications range from diagnosis of disease states in humans, such as cancer, to rapid identification and screening of microorganisms. The growth in such types of studies has been possible thanks to advances in instrumentation and associated computational and mathematical tools for data processing and analysis. This volume of Advances in Biomedical Spectroscopy contains chapters from leading experts who discuss the latest advances in the application of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Near infrared (NIR), Terahertz and Raman spectroscopy for diagnosis and screening in fields ranging from medicine, dentistry, forensics and aquatic science. Many of the chapters provide information on sample preparation, data acquisition and data interpretation that would be particularly valuable for new users of these techniques including established scientists and graduate students in both academia and industry.
The inner architecture of a material can have an astonishing effect on its overall properties and is vital to understand when designing new materials. Nature is a master at designing hierarchical structures and so researchers are looking at biological examples for inspiration, specifically to understand how nature arranges the inner architectures for a particular function in order to apply these design principles into man-made materials. Materials Design Inspired by Nature is the first book to address the relationship between the inner architecture of natural materials and their physical properties for materials design. The book explores examples from plants, the marine world, arthropods and bacteria, where the inner architecture is exploited to obtain specific mechanical, optical or magnetic properties along with how these design principles are used in man-made products. Details of the experimental methods used to investigate hierarchical structures are also given. Written by leading experts in bio-inspired materials research, this is essential reading for anyone developing new materials.
