Wine Discrimination using a Mass Spectral Based Chemical Sensor

Verification of authenticity is a crucial aspect of food quality control, and also important to regulatory organizations. In this study, two wines of known pure varietal along with some commercial wines were examined using a mass spectrometry based chemical sensor. The fast analysis times obtained using this instrument makes this technology ideal for detection of…

Use of a Mass Spectral Based Chemical Sensor to Discriminate Food and Beverage Samples: Olive Oils and Wine as Examples

An accurate but time consuming technique commonly used to analyze samples for quality control applications is Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Although GC/MS is a well-known technique, analysis times are usually long and its output (a total ion chromatogram) can be hard to interpret. It is therefore of high interest to provide a faster…

Multidimensional GC Analysis of Complex Samples

To perform chromatographic analysis of real-world samples, analysts often must deal with either complex sample types such as essential oils and petroleum fractions, or complex matrices like biological fluids, foods, sludge, or polymers. Once the sample has been prepared for analysis, resolution of all the individual compounds present by means of a single chromatographic separation…

Multi-Residue Method for the Determination of Five Groups of Pesticides in Non-Fatty Food Samples by Dual Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (Dual SBSE) and Thermal Desorption GC-MS*

A multi-residue method for determination of five groups of 85 pesticides – organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphorous, pyrethroid and others – in non-fatty food, e.g. vegetables, fruits and green tea is described. The method is based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled to thermal desorption (TD) and retention time locked (RTL) GC-MS in the scan mode.…

A Selectable Single or Multidimensional GC System with Heart-Cut Fraction Collection and Dual Detection for Trace Analysis of Complex Samples

Identification of important trace components in complex samples like fragrances, natural products, petroleum fractions or polymers can be challenging. Achieving the mass on column and resolution necessary to locate and identify trace components using a single chromatographic separation can be difficult if not impossible. Parallel detection with a selective detector and MSD can help locate…

Application of Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) Coupled to Thermal Desorption GC-MS for Determination of Ultra-Trace Level Compounds in Aqueous Samples

During the past decade, miniaturized and solvent-less sample preparation techniques based on sorptive extraction, e.g. solid phase micro-extraction (SPME), have proven to be simple, fast and environmentally friendly alternatives to LLE while maintaining or even improving sensitivity. In 1999, a new extraction technique known as stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) using stir bars coated with…

Elimination of Non-Volatile Sample Matrix Components After GC Injection using a Thermal Desorber and Microvial Inserts

GC analysis of complex sample types containing non-volatile materials normally requires extensive sample preparation and cleanup prior to injection to eliminate the interference from non-volatile components. Accumulation of nonvolatile matrix components in the inlet and at the head of the GC column can lead to generation of active sites, analyte degradation, poor quantitation due to…

Fast Screening of Apple Flavor Compounds using SPME in Combination with Fast Capillary GC-MS using a Modular Accelerated Column Heater (MACH) and Quadrupole Mass Spectrometric Detector (qMSD)

A fast HS-SPME-CGC-MSD method for the analysis of flavor compounds of apples was developed. A complete profile was obtained after solid phase micro-extraction within 3 minutes GC run-time using a modular accelerated column heater (MACH). Detection with a state-of-the-art quadrupole MSD allowed a data acquisition rate of 20 Hz, while the mass spectral data quality…

Evaluation of PDMS-Based Extraction Techniques and GC-TOFMS for the Analysis of Off-flavor Chemicals in Beer

Various techniques employing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as an extraction medium prior to GC-TOFMS analysis were investigated to measure off-flavors in aged beer. The techniques included stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE), purge-and-trap (P&T) and closed-loop-stripping (CLS). SBSE appeared to provide the most accurate quantitation and was capable of detecting the most odor-active compounds.…

Target GC-MS Analysis using Accelerated Column Heating and Interactive Deconvolution Software

In diverse fields ranging from environmental samples to complex flavor preparations, high performance, high resolution capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, GC-MS, has become the preferred technique for identifying and quantifying target compounds at trace levels. Many of these samples are characterized by very complex matrices, which provide a substantial challenge for contemporary capillary GC-MS. This situation…

Headspace Sampling Unit Combined with a Metal Oxide Sensor or Standard Detectors for Quantification of VOC Emissions from Beverage Cans or Other Packaging Materials

The quality of packaging materials used in the food and beverage industry must be controlled regularly in order to avoid negative effects on packaged products caused by emissions, e.g. VOC emissions from printing processes or from varnishes used on inner surfaces of the packaging material. Many companies have worldwide production sites, that may not all…

Improving MS Detection of Malachite Green in Fish Products using Automated SPE coupled with an LC/Ion Trap MS system

Malachite green (MG) is a triphenyl methane dye that is highly efficient in battling fungi, bacteria and various single cell parasites. MG is traditionally used in aquaculture to treat and prevent fungal infections. MG, which is structurally related to known carcinogenic triphenylmethane dyes, is metabolized to leucomalachite green (LMG) and deposited in the fatty tissue…