In August, the VOC collector arrived at the University of Padua (UNIPD), and over the next three weeks, the volatile profiles of peach, pear, apple, and soybean plants will be evaluated, during infestation with stinkbugs .

Our dear colleague Ana Fundurulic is embarking on new and, we're sure, wonderfully exciting adventures!

We are deeply grateful for the exceptional contributions she's made to the PurPest project, especially as the heart and soul of Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation (WP6). Since the day she joined, Ana's dedication, professionalism, and ever-cheerful spirit have been a true...

On 16 July 2025, at the Plant Interaction Meetings hosted by ITQB NOVA in Oeiras, Portugal, Maria João Camacho from INIAV presented advances in innovative sensor technologies for sustainable crop protection, highlighting the goals of the PurPest project. Her talk emphasized the importance of early detection of plant-parasitic nematodes to support more effective pest management...

As part of a technical visit by a delegation from the National Institute of Forest Science and the Korea Forest Service, the Nematology and Forest Entomology Laboratories at INIAV hosted a presentation on the key aspects of the impact, diagnosis, and management of the pinewood nematode in Portugal over the past 25 years.

In the context of innovation in diagnostic methods, the...

A new PurPest-supported article published in Chemosensors showcases the potential of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) to detect ergothioneine, a key antioxidant in mushrooms, with high accuracy. Featuring contributions from Pavol Miškovský of SAFTRA Photonics, the research highlights SERS as a rapid, non-destructive method for in situ detection of bioactive compounds in...

Headquartered in Kosice, Slovakia, SAFTRA Photonics Ltd. is an award-winning high-tech SME specializing in advanced nanomaterials and optical sensor technologies. With a strong focus on applied research and innovation, it develops ultra-sensitive detection systems that transform complex scientific concepts into practical solutions for monitoring environmental and biological phenomena at the...

Founded in 2019 and with offices in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Cambridge, UK, Volatile AI is a pioneering SME working on AI-enhanced volatile organic compound (VOC) detection. With the mission to digitize the invisible world of molecules and smells by developing smart, portable sensing technologies, they bring lab-grade chemical analysis into real-world environments.

As a key technical partner in...

Airmotec AG, based in Bordeaux, France, is a developer and manufacturer of advanced analytical systems for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis. As part of Chromatotec, an international leader with nearly 50 years of experience delivering turnkey gas and liquid analysis for industrial and academic applications solutions, Airmotec combines cutting-edge innovation with proven reliability...

At the International Meeting on Chemical Sensors (IMCS 2025) held at the Konzerthaus Freiburg, in Germany, from 22^nd to 26^th of June, Usman Yaqoob presented work from the University of Warwick on low-cost 3D-printed micro gas chromatography (GC) columns for fast VOC analysis. His talk highlighted a spiral-shaped micro-GC design capable of efficiently separating VOC, contributing to the...