Micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) analysis is a promising method for determining elemental distributions of small regions. Moreover, a recent trend in micro-XRF is 3D elemental analysis by using confocal micro-XRF instruments combined with two polycapillary x-ray lenses. Our research group has been developed confocal micro-XRF instruments by using polycapillary x-ray lenses, and its spatial ...

Phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphoric acid, IP6) has long been recognized as the predominant organic P form in soil and animal manure. Whereas many studies have investigated the wet chemistry of IP6, there is little information on the characterization of solid metal IP6 compounds. This information is essential for further understanding and assessing the chemical behavior of IP6 in diverse soil-p...

Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has been used to rapidly and nondestructively analyze bacteria, bacteria-polymer mixtures, digester samples and microbial biofilms. Diffuse reflectance FT-IR (DRIFT) analysis of freeze-dried, powdered samples offered a means of obtaining structural information. The bacteria examined were divided into two groups. The first group was characterize...

Shewanella oneidensis is able to conserve energy for growth by reducing a wide variety of terminal electron acceptors during anaerobic respiration, including several environmentally hazardous pollutants. This bacterium employs various electron transfer mechanisms for anaerobic respiration, including cell-bound reductases and secreted redox mediators. The aim of this study was to develop rapid t...

Beef is a commercially important and widely consumed muscle food and central to the protein intake of many societies. In the food industry no technology exists for the rapid and accurate detection of microbiologically spoiled or contaminated beef. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is a rapid, reagentless and non-destructive analytical technique whose continued development is resul...

In recent years many methods for ex vivo tissue analysis or diagnosis of diseases have been applied, including infrared absorption spectroscopy. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) absorption microspectroscopy allows the simultaneous monitoring of the content of various chemical compounds in tissues with both high selectivity and resolution. Imaging of tissue samples in very short time can be pe...