A growing problem within organizations in countries like China is the adulteration of products for economic gain. The FDA’s working definition of Economically Motivated Adulteration (EMA) as the “fraudulent, intentional substitution or addition of a substance in a product for the purpose of increasing the apparent value of the product or reducing the cost of […]
FTIR Spectroscopy Blog Posts
FTIR Testing: Pinpointing Sources of Food Contaminants
According to the National Institute of Health, 48 million people in the U.S. get sick from contaminated food each year. Harmful bacteria are the most common cause of food borne illness. (Source: NIH) Microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeasts and molds, can cause food spoilage and deterioration during food production. The American Meat Institute conducted research […]
FTIR Testing Identifies Unknown Materials
One of the inventors of the early telegraph, Dr. David Alter, a nearly forgotten Pennsylvanian, found a fragment of a great mass of very brilliant glass from a glass house, which had been destroyed in the great Pittsburgh Fire of 1845. From this, he made a prism through which he went on to discover Spectrum […]
FTIR Analysis for Problem Solving
Sometimes chemical reactions are happening in places you wouldn’t expect, causing problems that weren’t anticipated. Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered how fat, oil and grease (FOG) can create hardened deposits in sewer pipes, contributing to overflows. These overflows, in turn, may cause environmental and public safety issues, leading to costly repairs and […]
FTIR Test Sheds Light on How Plants Extract Oxygen From Water
Most of us were exposed to the concept of photosynthesis in our early education. As adults, it’s unlikely that we think much about how the plants that surround us supply us with oxygen. But, if you’re a scientist, you may be intrigued by the complex process plants use to harness the sun’s energy. Recently, Fourier […]
Infrared Spectroscopy Testing From Mars!
In 1877, Italian astronomer, Giovanni Schiaparelli, was making telescopic observations of Mars when he discovered what appeared to be natural features of the Mars surface which he called “canali,” an Italian word meaning “channels.” This term was mistranslated into English as “canals.” Over time, a myth grew that Martians existed who built these canals. Ever […]
The Benefits of Portable FTIR Gas Analyzers
FTIR testing has been around a long time and a service Innovatech Labs has been offering to customers for nearly 20 years. A new facet of FTIR testing is the use of portable FTIR gas analyzers. This device is employed by some companies for use in battlefield chemical warfare agent analysis, civilian hazardous event response, […]
FTIR Emissions Testing: Common Pitfalls
Although Innovatech Labs doesn’t specialize in Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) testing for emissions, this type of FTIR analysis has been getting quite a bit of news lately because state and federal emissions and air quality compliance rely on the results of FTIR testing to measure environmental air quality. While Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) technology is a […]
FTIR Analysis Sampling Techniques
The explosion in the growth of technological applications incorporating new materials and covering a range of industries from nanotechnology to photovoltaics has created consequent growth in the need for FTIR analysis and testing for organic materials. Materials characterization measures the range of wavelengths absorbed by a material such as crystals, polymers, composites, liquids and liquid […]
Resource Materials to Learn More About FTIR
If anyone ever doubted that FTIR analysis is a lifetime study, he or she hasn’t scanned a life sciences or chemistry research library lately. With the advent of the Internet, much of what was once only available in print form is now available in an online and digital format as well. Following is a breakdown […]
