Through a combination of remote instrumentation, JPEG-style image compression algorithms and other key enhancements, Alexander Pines and members of his research group have been able to use Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to image materials flowing through microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” devices and zoom in on microscopic objects of particular interest with unprecedented spatial and time resolutions.

In two studies published today in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis, UK and Swiss research teams reveal two techniques proven to identify dissolved cocaine in bottles of wine or rum. These tools will allow customs officials to quickly identify bottles being used to smuggle cocaine, without the need to open or disturb the container.

The recipients of the 2010 European Magnetic Resonance Awards are John R. Griffiths (Basic Sciences) for his contributions to the applications of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in oncology, and Stefan Neubauer (Medical Sciences) for his contributions to anatomical and functional cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy.

Magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy may in the future be able both to pinpoint the precise location of prostate cancer and to determine the tumour's aggressiveness, information that could help guide treatment planning. In Science Translational Medicine (doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3000513), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report how spectroscopic analysis of the biochemical makeup of prostate glands accurately identified the location of tissue confirmed to be malignant by conventional pathology.

Espinosa Alonso, a chemist from Utrecht University, The Netherlands, used four different spectroscopic techniques to study catalysts in the course of their preparation: UV-vis-NIR-microspectroscopy, IR microspectroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tomographic energy dispersive diffraction imaging (TEDDI). Whilst MRI and TEDDI are already frequently used in other research fields, but they are not commonly used to study the preparation of catalysts.

Researchers at Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, USA) have devised a new, potentially more accurate method for diagnosing breast cancer. They use MRI to produce an image of the breast and highlight potential cancerous sites. NIR spectroscopy is then used on these sites, giving information on haemoglobin levels, oxygen saturation and water content. These are indicators of cancerous tissue.

Their work is published in Optics Letters, doi: 10.1364/OL.32.000933

Pittcon 2007 has launched a new, re-designed website. www.pittcon.org

Bruker Daltonics has received a Product Innovation Award from Frost & Sullivan in recognition of Bruker’s contributions to a broad array of mass spectrometry technologies and for its commitment to the growing field of proteomics. www.bruker-biosciences.com