Sample preparation is a fundamental laboratory technique encompassing all procedures required to convert a raw specimen into a form suitable for analytical measurement or experimental manipulation, while preserving analyte integrity and representativeness. It typically includes sampling, homogenization, separation, purification, concentration, and, when necessary, chemical derivatization. Methods vary by matrix and analytical modality (e.g., filtration, centrifugation, extraction, digestion, or fixation for microscopy), and are optimized to minimize contamination, losses, matrix effects, and chemical transformations. Rigorous sample preparation is critical for achieving accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and reproducibility in techniques such as chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, and molecular biology assays.
A research team in Japan has developed an efficient, minimally invasive cancer detection device that uses high-performance zinc oxide nanowires to selectively capture extracellular vesicles (EVs) from bodily fluids.
Bio & Medicine
Jun 11, 2026
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7
The moon may look unchanged from afar, but its surface is constantly reshaped by microscopic impacts and a steady stream of particles from the sun, a process known as space weathering. Now, Georgia Tech researchers have recreated ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 10, 2026
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21
Nanodiamonds are tiny diamond particles only a few nanometers in size. Because they are chemically highly stable and can host so-called color centers, optically active defects in the crystal lattice, they are considered promising ...
Nanophysics
Jun 3, 2026
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12
Cornell researchers have developed a new way to create moiré patterns—atomic-scale structures that can give materials unusual quantum behaviors—without relying on the traditionally used difficult-to-control twisting and stacking ...
Nanophysics
Jun 2, 2026
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32
Researchers from Sciensano, partner of the DARWIN project, have published a new paper in npj Science of Food addressing one of the key scientific and regulatory challenges linked to genome-edited (GE) organisms, their reliable ...
Biotechnology
May 27, 2026
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8
The mechanism of high-temperature (TC) superconductivity is a key challenge in condensed matter physics. Recently, Chinese scientists made significant progress in the study of high-TC nickelate superconductors.
Condensed Matter
May 22, 2026
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64
As modern technologies shrink to the nanoscale, surfaces increasingly dictate how materials deform, yield, and fail. Yet probing this regime has long been hindered by the challenge of preparing and controlling surfaces with ...
Nanomaterials
May 13, 2026
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7
Discovered in 2019, the material known as nickelates has intrigued researchers for its potential to become a superconductor at elevated temperatures—a property that could significantly advance such fields as quantum science ...
Superconductivity
Apr 27, 2026
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42
Although the fundamental constitutive laws for steel and concrete were established more than a century ago, weak layers in snow remain a mystery. There are currently two theories about how they fail. A study published in ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 15, 2026
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5
The IBeA group of the EHU-University of the Basque Country is proposing new measures to safeguard the purity of extraterrestrial samples. Several contaminants, including traces of ink, originating in the preparation of subsamples, ...
Astrobiology
Apr 14, 2026
1
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