Insect metabolism and the inter-species communication among insects are fascinating fields of science. The underlying chemical principles are difficult to elucidate since minute amounts of chemicals, often of unknown structures, are involved. The talk highlights recent examples of work where chemical analysis and biological research went hand in hand to unravel ecological mysteries. Focus will be on the use of modern and sensitivity improved nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy serving as analytical key technology.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding is an important issue in modern daily life due to the increasing prevalence of electronic devices and their compact design. This study estimated EMI-shielding effect (EMI-SE) of small (8–14×17 mm) Hanji (Korean traditional paper) doped with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and compared to Hanji without CNT using 2H (92.1 MHz) and 23Na (158.7 MHz) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) peak area data obtained from 1 M NaCl in D2O samples in capillary tubes that were wrapped in the Hanji samples. The simpler method of using the variation of reflected power and tuning frequency by inserting the sample into an NMR coil was also tested at 242.9, 158.7, and 92.1 MHz. Overall, EMI shielding was relatively more effective at the higher frequencies. Our results validated that NMR methods to be useful to evaluate EMI-SE, particularly for small, flexible shielding materials, and demonstrated that EMI shielding by absorption is dominant in Hanji mixed with CNT.