Analyst Blog

Analytical techniques are shedding new light on old treasures.

Analytical chemists are making breakthroughs in the science of heritage and conservation. Using new techniques, previously lost nuances in the works of cultural artifacts are being rediscovered, enriching our understanding of our shared culture, and recasting our relationship with the past.

Dr Richard P. Van Duyne recently used Raman spectroscopy to reveal the stunning original colours of Renoir’s “Madame Valentine Clapisson” painted over a century ago. Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), a technique widely used in biomedical research that Van Duyne has spent the past few years adapting for the study of organic paints, the lush reds of the original could be acurately recreated. SERS involves adsorbing tiny paint samples to metal nanoparticles, which enhances the Raman signal so trace amounts of the pigment molecules can be detected. Routine art analysis techniques like x-ray fluorescence scanning are unsuitable for this kind of paint, as they rely on elemental signatures from metals, without Dr Van Duyne’s developments the original colours envisioned by Renoir would remain unknown.

In a recent themed collection in Analyst and Analytical Methods cutting edge developments in analytical science used in heritage and conservation were drawn together. Guest edited by Dr Francesca Casadio and Dr Richard P. Van Duyne, the collection of articles highlights work on historic buildings, illuminated manuscripts and paintings by artists such as Dali and Matisse, as well as developments on the underpinning analytical techniques that are revealing ground-breaking insights into our rich cultural heritage.

In their editorial, Dr Francesca Casadio and Dr Richard P. Van Duyne set out the case for the cooperation between the chemical sciences and heritage work, and highlight the need for future research into this area to guarantee the conservation and understanding of our shared history.

The collection is open for submissions. Submit your work to the collection, or read it online today.

The 3rd Workshop on Microfluidics was held at the National Center for Research on Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, Sao Paulo (Brazil) from July 18-19, 2013. Since 2011, the workshop has brought together young students, researchers and companies from different states of Brazil to discuss topics related to the fundamentals, fabrication technologies, innovations and applications on microfluidic science. In this third edition, the Workshop was attended by around 160 people from Universities (66%), research centers (23%) and companies (11%). As already observed in previous years, the Workshop has demonstrated the state of the art of microfluidics in Brazil. This field has been spread out around different regions of the Brazil with great contributions on fabrication technologies well as innovative developments and applications on microfluidic platforms. For the coming years, we hope that the Workshop will continue to receive great attention from the community in order to contribute to the scientific growth related to the microfluidics in Brazil.

During the Workshop, we were pleased to select the presentation “Microfluidic formation of pDNA/cationic nonviral nanocarriers for in vitro gene delivery” to receive the RSC Publishing Prize for the best presentation. The work was presented by the graduated student Tiago A. Balbino and was supervised by Dr. Lucimara G. de La Torre, from the School of Chemical Engineering, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). The work describes the microfluidic formation of nonviral systems for delivery of plasmid DNA (pDNA) using a hydrodynamic flow-focusing microfluidic device where the complexation between the pDNA and three different cationic nonviral nanocarriers: cationic liposomes, poly(ethylene imine), and peptide with nuclear localization signals were demonstrated.
On behalf of the organizing committee, I would like to thank the support received from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Angelo Luiz Gobbi

Microfabrication Laboratory – LNNano