Ep. 43: An Introduction to Optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) Spectroscopy

Welcome to “Analytically Speaking,” the podcast from LCGC International and Spectroscopy.

Here in Episode #43, podcast host Dr. Jerry Workman speaks with Dr. Mustafa Kansiz, who is currently the Director of Product Management at Photothermal Spectroscopy Corporation in Santa Barbara, California. They will be discussing an introduction to optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy; the technique, its applications and the newest innovations in O-PTIR and even Photothermal Stimulated Raman Scattering (PT-SRS).

References and Further Information for O-PTIR

What is O-PTIR?

Optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) spectroscopy is an infrared super-resolution measurement technique where a shorter wavelength visible probe is used to measure and map infrared (IR) absorption with spatial resolution up to 30× better than conventional techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and direct IR laser imaging systems.

These articles introduce O-PTIR microscopy and explain how it overcomes traditional IR spectroscopy limitations while enabling multimodal capabilities, including simultaneous IR+Raman spectroscopy and co-located fluorescence microscopy. O-PTIR overcomes key limitations of traditional FT-IR, such as poor spatial chemical resolution, time-consuming sample preparation, and spectral artifacts.

(1) Prater, C.; Cheng, J.-X. An Introduction to Optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy Online, September 22, 2025. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/an-introduction-to-optical-photothermal-infrared-o-ptir-spectroscopy (accessed 2025-10-10).

(2) A tutorial on optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microscopy Open Access

Special Collection: Mid-IR Photonics

Craig B. Prater; Mustafa Kansiz; Ji-Xin Cheng APL Photonics 9, 091101 (2024). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0219983

(3) O-PTIR Techniques Web Page. Available at: https://www.photothermal.com/techniques/ (accessed 2025-10-27).

(4) Life Science with O-PTIR (Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy) YouTube Page. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3_VKcYX5jY (accessed 2025-10-27).

(5) Marchetti, A.; Beltran, V.; Nuyts, G.; Borondics, F.; De Meyer, S.; Van Bos, M.; Jaroszewicz, J.; Otten, E.; Debulpaep, M.; De Wael, K. Novel Optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) Spectroscopy for the Noninvasive Characterization of Heritage Glass–Metal Objects.
Sci. Adv. 2022, 8 (9), eabl6769. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl6769.

(6) Baugh, Q.; Lee, J.; Wu, Y.; et al. Optical Photothermal Infrared Response (O-PTIR) of Functionalized Thiophene Monomers and Polymers. MRS Commun. 2025, 15, 955–962. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-025-00783-0.

(7) Olson, N. E.; Xiao, Y.; Lei, Z.; Ault, A. P. Simultaneous Optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) and Raman Spectroscopy of Submicrometer Atmospheric Particles. Anal. Chem. 2020, 92 (14), 9932–9939. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.0c01495.

(8) Molina, C.; Kim, D.; Mehndiratta, L.; Lee, J.; Madawala, C. K.; Slade, J. H.; Tivanski, A. V.; Grassian, V. H. Comparison of Different Vibrational Spectroscopic Probes (ATR-FTIR, O-PTIR, Micro-Raman, and AFM-IR) of Lipids and Other Compounds Found in Environmental Samples: Case Study of Substrate-Deposited Sea Spray Aerosols. ACS Meas. Sci. Au 2024, 5 (1), 74–86. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.4c00033.

More about our hosts:

Dwight Stoll, PhD:

Dwight R. Stoll is a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota, under Professor Peter Carr, working on the development of fast, comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC). Stoll’s current primary research focus is on the development of 2D-LC for both targeted and untargeted analyses. Active research projects in his laboratory touch on most aspects of multidimensional separation methodologies, including optimization strategies, characterization of selectivity in reversed-phase LC, instrument development, and applications in biopharmaceutical analysis. Stoll is the author or co-author of more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and six book chapters and has instructed numerous short courses in 2D-LC. In 2011 he was the recipient of LCGC’s Emerging Leader in Chromatography Award. In 2017 he received the Georges Guiochon Faculty Fellowship, and was recognized with an Agilent Technologies Thought Leader Award. He is also a member of LCGC’s editorial advisory board and is the editor of the “LC Troubleshooting” column in LCGC.

Jerome Workman, Jr., PhD:

Jerome (Jerry) J. Workman, Jr. is the Executive Editor for LCGC and Spectroscopy. He has held positions as CTO, executive VP, senior research fellow, director, and senior scientist at companies of all sizes, from start-ups to world-leading corporations. He has been an adjunct faculty member of four universities and advised multiple graduate students. He has more than 75 U.S. and international patent applications and 30 issued U.S. and international patents and multiple trade secrets, as well as 500+ technical publications, and 20 reference book volumes on a broad range of spectroscopy and data processing techniques. He has received multiple awards from scientific societies, and has taught annual courses in spectroscopy, chemometrics, and statistics for the AOAC, ACS, ISA, FACSS, and at several universities and corporations. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists (FAIC), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK (FRSC, CChem, CSci). Jerry holds B.A and M.A degrees from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and a PhD degree from Columbia Pacific University working in near-infrared spectroscopy. He is an alumnus of both Columbia University Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

About the Analytically Speaking Podcast:

Analytically Speaking, the podcast from LCGC and Spectroscopy, addresses important issues in separation science and analytical spectroscopy. Topics include new analytical techniques, methods, and approaches; the latest trends; advances in instrument and software technology; practical solutions for specific applications; recent papers in the scientific literature and their applicability; challenges and solutions for data analysis and interpretation; analytical chemistry theory and fundamentals (from advanced research to tutorials and troubleshooting); and more. Our regular hosts are Dwight Stoll, PhD, a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and Jerry Workman, PhD, a spectroscopist, noted author, and currently the Senior Technical Editor of Spectroscopy and LCGC. Dwight covers separation science and Jerry addresses spectroscopy related topics.

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