Sharing expertise in new spectroscopic techniques

Professor Celio Pasquini of UNICAMP’s Department of Chemical Analysis is a major player in the area of spectroscopy  in Latin America and in the development of advanced techniques such as Thz-TD (Terahertz - Time Domain) and LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy). CRA-W, for its part, enjoys worldwide renown in the application of vibrational spectroscopy to the food processing industry and has more than 30 years’ experience in this field. The Centre has also pioneered the development of analytical methods based on advanced techniques such as NIR imaging and FT-Raman spectroscopy and has acknowledged expertise in chemometrics applied to spectroscopic data. That made it an easy decision for UNICAMP and CRA-W to pool their efforts and respective expertise and set up an ambitious research and training programme for applying spectroscopic techniques to fruit and fruit product quality control and traceability. The project will develop the participating teams’ scientific knowledge through the acquisition of new areas of expertise in emerging spectroscopic and chemometric techniques. The PhotonFruit link-up will lead to international research initiatives and a cooperative network will be set up involving Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCL).