Molecular characterization

News and Updates

NIST Scientists Use DNA Origami on a Chip to Detect Biomolecules

October 17, 2024

Using strands of DNA to create miniature hinges that pop open or shut when binding to specific molecules, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

New Frequency Comb Can Identify Molecules in 20-Nanosecond Snapshots

October 30, 2023

Laser-based system now has the ability to capture moment-to-moment details of high-speed processes such as hypersonic propulsion and protein folding.

A graphical representation of a DNA biosensor device for clinical diagnostics that is the size and shape of a smartphone.

New DNA Biosensor Could Unlock Powerful, Low-Cost Clinical Diagnostics

January 24, 2023

The biosensor, developed by researchers at NIST, Brown University and the French research institute CEA-Leti, identifies biomarkers by measuring how binding

Blog Posts

Brad Sutliff wears safety glasses as he stands in the lab in front of a computer monitor.

From Trash to Cash: How AI and Machine Learning Can Help Make Recycling Less Expensive for Local Governments

Henry Moseley: A Patriotic Scientist Who Changed the Periodic Table — and Then Went Off to War

A Polymer Scientist Wrestles — Literally and Figuratively — With the Frustrations of Plastic Packaging

Projects and Programs

Advanced Materials Characterization

Ongoing

This program seeks to continually enhance the analytical competence of MML and other major operating units at NIST. Furthermore, the program makes available technical capabilities that U.S. industry and government need in their quest to compete on a global scale through improving methods and

Advanced Materials: Elemental and Chemical Analysis of Microstructured Materials

Ongoing

Projects: DTSA-II – Pushing the Limits of Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry Multimodal Superresolution Microscopy Forensic Trace Evidence

Advanced Materials: X-ray Science for Standards and Analysis

Ongoing

Projects: Theoretical Calculations of Near-Edge X-ray Spectra Microcalorimeter X-ray Detector X-ray Spectroscopy and Electronic Structure of Solids X-ray Methods for Chemical Imaging at Micro to Mesoscales

Biomanufacturing Initiative

Ongoing

The objective of the NIST biomanufacturing program is to support US biopharmaceutical industry delivery of high quality and low cost protein drugs around the world. The mission is fulfilled through the development of standards, measurement science, and state of the art tools that support advances in

Publications

A point-of-need framework for illicit drug identification with high-resolution mass spectrometry

March 18, 2025

Author(s)

Thomas Forbes, Elizabeth Robinson, Edward Sisco, Abigail Koss

The continually evolving drug landscape, with novel synthetic drugs and unique compositions, necessitates the need to advance technologies, data analysis

Rheology and Microstructural Behavior of Semidilute Suspensions of Semiflexible Rods across Five Decades of Shear Rate

February 18, 2025

Author(s)

Paul Salipante, Ryan Murphy, Steve Kuei, Jeffrey Fagan, Christopher Sims, Kathleen Weigandt, Steven Hudson

Rod-like particles are efficient rheology modifiers and are commonly found in a variety of biological and industrially relevant suspensions, from biofilaments

Glass microwave microfluidic devices for broadband characterization of diverse fluids

November 15, 2024

Author(s)

Jacob Pawlik, Tomasz Karpisz, Yasaman Kazemipour, Nicholas Derimow, Sarah Evans, Bryan Bosworth, Christian Long, Nathan Orloff, James Booth, Angela Stelson

We demonstrate a glass microwave microfluidic device for determining the permittivity of a wide range of liquid chemicals from 100 MHz to 10 GHz with relatively

Flat-histogram Monte Carlo Simulation of Water Adsorption in Metal-organic Frameworks

April 27, 2024

Author(s)

Daniel Siderius, Harold Hatch, Vincent K. Shen

Molecular simulations of water adsorption in porous materials often converge slowly due to sampling bottlenecks that follow from hydrogen bonding and, in many

Tools and Instruments

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique in which the vibrational modes of the molecules comprising a material of interest