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Chemistry

Analytical chemistry

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How Milk Does an Animal Body Good

May 7, 2019

It has been called the world’s most perfect food, and there’s unequivocal evidence that it can fight off disease and build better baby brains. But even after

NMR scientists from ACMD selected for Best Poster award

March 7, 2019

A NIST poster presenting recent breakthroughs in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) analysis of vapor mixtures was recently awarded “Best Poster” at

Two vials, one with heroin and one with an equivalent dose of fentanyl, which is a much smaller amount.

New Protocol for Measuring Background Levels of Drugs in Crime Labs

September 25, 2018

When crime lab chemists handle evidence that contains illegal drugs, trace amounts of those drugs are inevitably released into the laboratory environment. When

Data-Sharing Website May Speed Response to New Illegal Drugs

July 5, 2018

The drug overdose epidemic currently gripping the nation is so tenacious in part because it’s being driven by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that comes in many

Recent Patent Activity within ACMD

June 7, 2018

A provisional patent by Tom Bruno and Kim Urness of the Applied Chemicals and Materials Division on Inductive Flash Desorption was published on June 7, 2018

A Standard for Standards

March 19, 2018

A new NIST standard ensures reliably accurate comparisons of measurements of the purity of tens of thousands of organic materials used throughout the world—in

A graph with vertical lines showing the mass spectrum of fentanyl

Free Software Can Help Spot New Forms of Fentanyl and Other Illegal Drugs

March 7, 2018

Fentanyl, the synthetic drug that is driving a nationwide overdose epidemic, is not only a killer. It’s also a shape shifter. Illicit chemists are constantly

NIST Announces 2018 Small Business Innovation Research Funding Opportunity

February 16, 2018

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is now accepting proposals for its 2018 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards. The

Detecting Chemical Agents with Confidence

January 17, 2018

The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) has become an important defense tool on battlefields and in war-torn cities over the last few years. About the size and

Sticking Together

January 16, 2018

NIST helps to ensure the strength of buildings, bridges, roadways, and other critical structures all over the world. The Material Measurement Lab at NIST makes

Image of a research platform that can report oceanographic and atmospheric data via satellite.

NIST Publishes 2016 Department of Commerce Laboratories Technology Transfer Report

September 11, 2017

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the U.S. Commerce Department’s (DOC) 2016 Annual Report on Technology

Scientists Lay the Groundwork for a Reliable Marijuana Breathalyzer

July 5, 2017

Marijuana is now legal for recreational or medicinal use in at least 28 states and the District of Columbia. But driving under the influence of marijuana is

Woman uses gas analysis mass spectrometer at NBS for chemical analysis of gas or vapor mixtures

NIST Upgrades Widely Used Database of Molecular 'Fingerprints'

June 6, 2017

When scientists need to identify an unknown compound, they do what a police detective might do. They get fingerprints—in this case, the “molecular fingerprints”

Illustration of setup for separating nanoparticles from organisms

NIST Updates ‘Sweet’ 1950s Separation Method to Clean Nanoparticles from Organisms

January 26, 2017

Sometimes old-school methods provide the best ways of studying cutting-edge tech and its effects on the modern world. Giving a 65-year-old laboratory technique

New Arsenic Sensor Prize Challenge

December 14, 2016

The Bureau of Reclamation has launched phase one of the Arsenic Sensor Challenge. Arsenic in water can affect human health and limit water supplies. NIST

This JILA instrument uses a frequency comb to detect large, complex molecules based on the precise frequencies, or colors, of light they absorb.

JILA Extends Laser 'Combing' Method to Identify Large, Complex Molecules

May 4, 2016

BOULDER, Colo. – JILA physicists have extended the capability of their powerful laser "combing" technique to identify the structures of large, complex molecules

Portable NIST Kit Can Recover Traces of Chemical Evidence

January 7, 2016

A chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a portable version of his method for recovering trace chemicals such as

Liquids and Glasses Relax, Too. But Not Like You Thought.

January 15, 2015

A new insight into the fundamental mechanics of the movement of molecules recently published by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

Measuring Absorption Maps and Spectra of Plasmonic Resonators with Nanoscale Resolution

September 10, 2014

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) and the University of Maryland have for the first time used photothermal induced

Latest NIST Mass Spectral Library: Expanded Coverage, Features

July 29, 2014

The world's most widely used and trusted resource for identifying mass spectra, the "fingerprints" of molecules, has undergone a major expansion, according to

Enhanced NIST Instrument Enables High-speed Chemical Imaging of Tissues

July 22, 2014

A research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with the Cleveland Clinic, has demonstrated a dramatically improved

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody molecule with glycan attached. Inset shows glycan structure.

New NIST Web Tool Makes Working with Glycan Sugars a Lot Sweeter

July 11, 2014

When researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) need a special tool to do their work more effectively, they often prove that

Shown here are the tools for testing arson samples using NIST's new PLOT capillary method.

NIST Analytic Technique Offers Arson Investigators Faster, More Accurate Results

June 17, 2014

A research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a new method for detecting ignitable liquids that could change

High school student Jessica Young checking the packing density of random aggregates of plastic spheres in a cylinder.

Snowballs to Soot: The Clumping Density of Many Things Seems to Be a Standard

June 10, 2014

Particles of soot floating through the air and comets hurtling through space have at least one thing in common: 0.36. That, reports a research group at the

NIST Gives Astronomers a Better Ruler in the Search for Extrasolar Planets

March 26, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have rejuvenated a technique for finding planets near distant stars.* New measurements

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