A Tuneable and Easy-to-Prepare SERS Substrate Based on Ag Nanorods: A Versatile Tool for Solution and Dry-State Analyses.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a powerful technique for the ultra-sensitive detection of organic analytes. In this paper, the preparation of SERS substrates based on silver nanorods (AgNRs) is proposed, exploiting a simple protocol which does not require complex procedures and/or sophisticated and expensive instrumentation. For this purpose, various syntheses of AgNRs were tested, and the best one for preparing the SERS active substrate proved to be the one which does not involve surfactants as nanoparticle stabilizers.

Resonance Raman and Visible Micro-Spectroscopy for the In-Vivo and In-Vitro Characterization of Anthocyanin-Based Pigments in Blue and Violet Flowers: A Comparison with HPLC-ESI- MS Analysis of the Extracts.

Microanalysis techniques based on resonance Raman and reflection visible spectroscopy have been applied to the characterization of pigments responsible for the blue or violet coloration in flowers; in particular of , , , , , , and . The spectroscopic methods were applied both in vivo on the flower petals and in vitro on extracts obtained through a procedure based on SPE (solid-phase extraction) optimized for minimal quantities of vegetable raw material. Different patterns obtained for the Raman spectra have been correlated, also on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, with different schemes of substitution of the benzopyrilium nucleus of the anthocyanins and with various possible forms of copigmentation responsible for the stabilization of the blue color.

From Materials to Technique: A Complete Non-Invasive Investigation of a Group of Six Ukiyo-E Japanese Woodblock Prints of the Oriental Art Museum E. Chiossone (Genoa, Italy).

In the present work, a complete non-invasive scientific investigation of six Utagawa Kunisada's woodblock prints () belonging to the Oriental Art Museum "E. Chiossone" (Genoa, Italy), was performed in situ. The campaign started with high resolution multiband imaging (visible, multiband fluorescence, near infrared) followed by reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) to characterize and highlight the peculiar printing techniques and the condition of the support.

Special-Effect and Conventional Pigments in Black Light Art: A Multi-Technique Approach to an In-Situ Investigation.

Since their introduction in the early decades of the 20th century, fluorescent pigments have found progressively wider applications in several fields. Their chemical composition has been optimized to obtain the best physical properties, but is not usually disclosed by the manufacturers. Even the other class of luminescent pigments, namely the phosphorescent ones, is now produced industrially.

A Silver Monochrome "Concetto spaziale" by Lucio Fontana: A Spectroscopic Non- and Micro-Invasive Investigation of Materials.

In several of his artworks, for instance the cycle, Fontana employed metallic paints; previous investigations on such materials highlighted the use of different synthetic binders and of thick paint layers below the metal one, having different colours to change the visual perception of the metallic surface. In the present work, a monochrome silver "Concetto spaziale" by the Italo-Argentine artist belonging to a private collection recently gifted to the museum of the Church of San Fedele in Milano, Italy, was investigated to deepen the knowledge of this particular group of Fontana's paintings. The artwork was initially visually inspected in visible and ultraviolet (UV) light.

FT-NIR Spectroscopy for the Non-Invasive Study of Binders and Multi-Layered Structures in Ancient Paintings: Artworks of the Lombard Renaissance as Case Studies.

This work deals with the identification of natural binders and the study of the complex stratigraphy in paintings using reflection FT-IR spectroscopy, a common diagnostic tool for cultural heritage materials thanks to its non-invasiveness. In particular, the potential of the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region, dominated by the absorption bands due to CH, CO, OH and NH functional groups, is successfully exploited to distinguish a lipid binder from a proteinaceous one, as well as the coexistence of the two media in laboratory-made model samples that simulate the complex multi-layered structure of a painting. The combination with multivariate analysis methods or with the calculation of indicative ratios between the intensity values of characteristic absorption bands is proposed to facilitate the interpretation of the spectral data.

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy With Electrodeposited Copper Ultramicro-Wires With/Without Silver Nanostars Decoration.

The electrochemical preparation of arrays of copper ultramicrowires (CuUWs) by using porous membranes as templates is critically revisited, with the goal of obtaining cheap but efficient substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The role of the materials used for the electrodeposition is examined, comparing membranes of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) vs. track-etched polycarbonate (PC) as well as copper vs.