Abstract: Butterfly wings exhibit optical phenomena resulting from pigments as well as from intricate nanostructures of the scales that plays an important role in their ecology mainly, communication, thermoregulation as well as mating. In our study, we examined the optical behavior of butterfly wing scales by analyzing their percent reflectance, absorbance, percent transmittance, and effective refractive index using ultraviolet–visible near-infrared (UV–Vis-NIR) spectroscopy which is a valuable analytical technique that provide details of the optical properties of materials. In the study conducted with 10 butterflies, the UV, visible, and NIR regions are highlighted to determine the optical properties of butterflies. From the study, it is explored that the UV region exhibit major absorbance, the visible region exhibits major reflectance, and infrared regions exhibit minor reflectance. Optical parameters other than reflectance and absorbance are derived from the spectroscopic data and plotted using Origin software. The percent reflectance, absorbance, percent transmittance, effective refractive index, and their respective wavelength of butterflies studied vary across species. Ariadne merione is observed to have the highest percent reflectance and the lowest is observed in the Eurema hecabe. The overall percentage of reflectance observed in the study ranges between 46%–68%. The absorbance is observed highest for Parantica aglea and lowest for Ypthima huebneri with optimum absorbance ranging between 1.23–0.82. The highest transmittance percentage is observed for Tirumala septentrionis, and the lowest value is observed in Mycalesis mineus and E. hecabe with optimum transmittance ranging between 63% to 47%, respectively. The refractive index was analyzed using the Fresnel equation, followed by an empirical Cauchy dispersion fit to characterize its wavelength dependence. The results revealed unusually high refractive index values for a biological specimen, indicating an effective refractive index behavior influenced by structural, pigmentation and optical complexity rather than representing the intrinsic material refractive index. This study is the first record on comprehensively determining the optical properties of Indian butterflies especially effective refractive index using UV–Vis-NIR spectroscopy.

New from Applied Spectroscopy!
Analysis of the Optical Properties of Butterflies Using Ultraviolet–Visible Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1177/00037028251397426
#SAS #Spectroscopy #UVVis #NIR #Butterfly #wing #refractive #index

Abstract: This contribution presents a novel, simple and cost-effective method for observing the movement of reaction products out of the plasma–liquid interface (PLI). By employing an imaging spectrograph, a multidimensional view, i.e., spatial, spectral, and temporal, of reactions occurring at the PLI is made possible, including the ability to track the reactions from the interface to bulk. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy techniques are key for interpreting changes in the observed section, and these techniques allow for calculating concentrations, determining production rates, and identifying reaction pathways. We describe and specify a direct vision imaging spectrograph and demonstrate its application to the aforementioned task. This approach provides valuable insight into the dynamics at the PLI and is a promising method for studying reaction kinetics and mechanisms in similar systems. Imaging spectroscopy is a valuable tool for analyzing the spatial, spectral, and temporal dynamics of plasma–liquid interactions. Our findings provide new insights into the complex physical and chemical processes which occur in such systems; they offer a deeper understanding of plasma-induced phenomena at the liquid interface. As a consequence, this research furthers possibilities for optimizing plasma-driven chemical reactions.

New from Applied Spectroscopy!
Imaging Spectroscopy at the Plasma–Liquid Interface
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1177/00037028251371731
#SAS #Spectroscopy #UVVis #plasma #chemical #reaction $vision #imaging

Abstract: Currently, there is increasing interest in identifying the mechanistic characteristics of the α-synuclein amyloid protein aggregation during its early stages. The initiation of amyloid protein incubation was investigated by applying the concepts of hydrophobic hydration in the early-formed protein aggregates and the light transport in the protein samples by using near-infrared light. These are unexplored concepts in amyloid protein aggregation research. Early-formed protein aggregates develop solvent-exposed hydrophobic residue segments, and intramolecular and intermolecular interactions can be identified by hydrophobic hydration, while consecutive intramolecular interactions can cancel this effect. In the light transport within protein samples, at low protein concentrations, the early-formed protein aggregates achieve stability, whereas at higher concentrations, such as those found in neuronal synapses (∼50  µM), the early-formed aggregates continue to develop.

New from Applied Spectroscopy!
Hydrophobic Hydration and Light Transport in α-Synuclein Protein Solutions in the Near-Infrared
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1177/00037028251367004
#SAS #Spectroscopy #NIR #protein #aggregation #amyloid #UVVis

Abstract Given fungi's critical role in public health and their impact during pandemics such as COVID-19, precise identification and classification are essential. Additionally, fungi hold significant value in medical and economic applications. For this work, fungi were isolated from various fruit. The fungi were initially identified based on their morphological characteristics using microscopic techniques. To achieve a comprehensive characterization, the eight fungal species were analyzed using rapid and cost-effective spectroscopic techniques, including attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). Fungal samples were used in the powder form, generating distinct spectral fingerprints in the biochemical region specific to components such as proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. Results demonstrated the efficacy of these spectroscopic approaches for rapid and accurate identification, enabling discrimination between fungal species and reliable classification at the genus level. The results showed the species were identified as Aspergillus parasiticus, Phytophthora spp., Chaetomium globosum, Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium sp., Penicillium italicum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Myrothecium roridum. This highlights the potential of these techniques as efficient tools for fungi identification.

New from Applied Spectroscopy!
Characterization and Identification of Diverse Fruit Rot Fungal Species Using Microscopic and Spectroscopic Approaches
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1177/00037028251350655
#SAS #Spectroscopy #fungi #identification #classification #microscopy #Raman #InfraRed #UVVis

Left part shows Tb3+ ions foeming somplex with 4-MBA and two water molecules. The water molecules are exchanged with two beta-Hb molecules. The complexes are excited by 317 nm and emit at 539 nm. The right part shows the emission intensity (at 530-550 nm) is linear in the range of 4 to 55 uM of beta-Hb (r^2=0.998).

New from Applied Spectroscopy!
Detection of β-Hydroxybutyric Acid Based on a Fluorescent Probe of Lanthanide Complexes
#SAS #Spectroscopy #UVVis #fluorescence #diabetic #ketoacidosis #diabetes #mellitus

Coming from ML background, trying to understand where UV/Vis + machine learning could make impact in biotech labs.

What papers do UV/Vis practitioners recommend for someone learning the intersection of analytical chemistry + ML in biotech?

#AnalyticalChemistry #UVVis #MachineLearning #Biotech

Validate User

Did you know SSS publishes optical property measurements like spectroscopic #ellipsometry (SE) & #UVvis? Check out this Featured Article reporting optical properties of 4H- and 6H-SiC using SE.
doi.org/10.1116/6.00...

Your research article has been published - now what? Publish your raw data in Surface Science Spectra! #XPS #MassSpec #ellipsometry #UVVis pubs.aip.org/avs/sss/page...