Qualitative Analysis of Coconut Water Products using Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction Combined with Thermal Desorption-GC/MS

This study shows the analysis of several commercially available coconut water products using a GC/MS system equipped with a versatile autosampler and sample preparation robot capable of performing a wide range of standard sample introduction techniques including thermal desorption. A fast and efficient analysis method based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) in combination with…

Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (SPME) Coupled with Selectable 1D/2D GC-MS for the Determination of Food Product Flavors

Identifi cation of important trace components in complex samples like fragrances, natural products, polymers or food products can be challenging. Achieving the mass on column and resolution necessary to locate peaks and identify trace components using a single column chromatographic separation can be difficult, if not impossible. A selectable 1D/2D GC-MS configuration based on Agilent®…

Large Volume Injection with GC/MS Multi Column Switching for Direct Determination of Ethyl Carbamate in Alcoholic Beverages

A procedure is presented for quantification of Ethyl Carbamate at low μg/L levels in distilled spirits. A 100 μL large volume injection was used followed by orthogonal 2-dimensional GC-MS with heartcutting. The direct large volume injection ensured sufficient availability of analyte without an initial sample preparation step, and the 2D step allowed clean elution of…

Automated Solid Phase Extraction (SPE)-LC-MS/MS Method for the Determination of Acrylamide in Brewed Coffee Samples

Acrylamide is thought to be produced during the roasting process associated with coffee production. Acrylamide has been labeled as a probable human carcinogen. Due to the use of roasted coffee beans in making coffee and the high consumption of coffee world-wide, brewed coffee could be a source of daily exposure to acrylamide. Acrylamide determination has…

Automated Determination of Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Monounsaturated Fat and Trans Fat Content in Food Samples

Determination of total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and trans fat content in food samples is necessary for complying with applicable food labeling requirements. A typical procedure for saponification of the sample involves refluxing with sodium methoxide in methanol, followed by a second reflux with boron trifluoride in order to esterify the free fatty acids.…

Automated Sample Preparation and Analysis Workflows for Pesticide Residue Screenings in Food Samples using DPX-QuEChERS with LC/MS/MS

QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) sample preparation methods have been developed to help monitor pesticides in a range of food samples. These methods require many manual steps, such as shaking, centrifugation, and dispersive SPE, making it a quite labor-intensive process. There is a need for automating the dispersive SPE technique to clean…

Automated Derivatization, SPE Cleanup and LC/MS/MS Determination of Glyphosate and Other Polar Pesticides

Glyphosate and glufosinate are widely used herbicides and, thus, there is an interest in the reliable and sensitive determination of glyphosate in water and food. These pesticides are difficult to extract and analyze because of their high polarity. In this report, we describe an automated workflow for the FMOC-derivatization, sample cleanup, and LC/MS/MS analysis using…

Development of an Automated Sample Preparation and Analysis Workflow for Mycotoxin Residues in Different Food Matrices

In this report, we describe a completely automated sample preparation workflow for the extraction and screening of multi-mycotoxin residues in different food matrices (corn, wheat) by LC/MS/MS. The extraction and cleanup was performed using a GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS XL) followed by LC/MS/MS determination using an AB SCIEX QTRAP® 4500. The automated sample preparation workflow…

Cleanup of QuEChERS Extracts using SBSE for LC/MS/MS Determination of Pesticides in Food Products

One of the most important aspects of reducing pesticide exposure is monitoring of pesticide residues in foods. A number of analytical methods have been developed, many of them based on traditional liquid-liquid extraction in combination with GC-MS or LC-MS. The QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) sample preparation methods have been developed to…

AromaOffice: Application of a Novel Linear Retention Indices Database to a Complex Hop Essential Oil

Aroma Office 2D (Gerstel K.K.) is an integrated software approach for simultaneous processing of both retention index (RI) and mass spectral (MS) data for rapid and improved identification of flavor compounds. The program can be integrated into Agilent Chemstation Software and searches are performed using CAS numbers of candidate compounds after library searching and corresponding…

A Combination of Standard (SBSE) and Solvent-Assisted (SA-SBSE) Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction for Comprehensive Analysis of Flavor Compounds in Beverages

Standard (SBSE) and Solvent-Assisted (SA-SBSE) Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction were both applied for profiling of flavor compounds in a matrix-heavy beverage sample. Unlike standard SBSE, SA-SBSE uses a solvent swollen polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stir bar for extraction and enhanced recovery of polar compounds. After extraction compounds were recovered from both stir bars by liquid desorption (LD)…

Analysis of Beverage Samples using Thin Film Solid Phase Microextraction (TF-SPME) and Thermal Desorption GC/MS

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are enjoyed by millions of people around the globe. The aroma and flavor profiles of each product are unique and made up from a variety of semi-volatile and volatile compounds including aldehydes, ketones, acids, alcohols, terpenes, esters along with various trace level compounds. Monitoring of these compounds is a necessity for…

Automated Determination of Formaldehyde Emissions from E-Liquids by On-Sorbent Derivatization and Thermal Desorption GC/MS

A new fully automated thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS method was developed for determination of formaldehyde and other airborne carbonyls as well as VOCs for material emission testing. The method includes an automated in-situ derivatization agent loading step prior to every sampling step, thus blank values are avoided. Pentafluorophenylhydrazine (PFPH) was used as derivatization agent and was…

Analysis of Food Samples using Thin Film Solid Phase Microextraction (TF-SPME) and Thermal Desorption GC/MS

Food products are routinely monitored for quality, authenticity, and safety. Analysis of food products may also be necessary due to off flavoro odor complaints. The aroma and flavor profiles of each product are unique and made up from a variety of semi-volatile and volatile compounds including aldehydes, ketones, acids, alcohols, terpenes, esters and other trace…

Direct Thermal Extraction Analysis of Food Packaging Material

This study describes the use of the GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) fitted with a Thermal Desorption Unit (TDU) and a Cooled Injection System (CIS 4) PTV-type Inlet for the automated direct thermal extraction analysis of packaging for three different brands of crème-fi lled chocolate sandwich cookies, cheese-filled sandwich crackers and soft and chewy candy. Download…