Sweeteners determination in table top formulations using FT-Raman spectrometry and chemometric analysis

A partial least squares (PLS) Fourier transform Raman spectrometry procedure based on the measurement of solid samples contained inside standard glass vials, has been developed for direct and reagent-free determination of sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate in table top sweeteners. A classical 2² design for standards was used for calibration, but this system provides accuracy errors higher than 13% w/w for the analysis of samples containing glucose monohydrate. So, an extended model incorporating glucose monohydrate (2³ standards) was assayed for the determination of sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate in all the samples. Mean centering spectra data pre-treatment has been employed to eliminate common spectral information and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) of 0.0064 and 0.0596 was obtained for sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate, respectively. A mean accuracy error of the order of 1.1 and 1.9% w/w was achieved for sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate, in the validation of the method using actual table top samples, being lower than those obtained using an external monoparametric calibration. FT-Raman provides a fast alternative to the chromatographic method for the determination of the sweeteners with a three times higher sampling throughput than that obtained in HPLC. On the other hand, FT-Raman offers an environmentally friendly methodology which eliminates the use of solvents. Furthermore, the stability of samples and standards into chromatographic standard glass vials allows their storage for future analysis thus avoiding completely the waste generation.     

Evaluation of Cashew Apple Juice for the Production of Fuel Ethanol

A commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used for the production of ethanol by fermentation of cashew apple juice. Growth kinetics and ethanol productivity were calculated for batch fermentation with different initial sugar (glucose + fructose) concentrations. Maximal ethanol, cell, and glycerol concentrations were obtained when 103.1 g L⁻¹ of initial sugar concentration was used. Cell yield (Y _X/S) was calculated as 0.24 (g microorganism)/(g glucose + fructose) using cashew apple juice medium with 41.3 g L⁻¹ of initial sugar concentration. Glucose was exhausted first, followed by fructose. Furthermore, the initial concentration of sugars did not influence ethanol selectivity. These results indicate that cashew apple juice is a suitable substrate for yeast growth and ethanol production.     

Methode d'analyse quantitative par spectrometrie Raman-laser associee aux fibres optiques pour le suivi d'une fermentation alcooliqueA quantitative laser Raman spectrometric method with fibre optics for monitoring an alcoholic fermentation

Laser Raman spectrometry with a fibre-optic system is used to monitor the concentrations of ethanol, glucose and fructose at various stages of an alcoholic fermentation process. For evaluation of the data, cross-correlation and multivariate least-squares procedures are compared; the latter gives the best results. Ethanol, glucose and fructose can be determined remotely with a precision of ca. 10 g l^?1 (10–15%).     

Determination of glucose and ethanol after enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of biomass using Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy has been used for the quantitative determination of the conversion efficiency at each step in the production of ethanol from biomass. The method requires little sample preparation; therefore, it is suitable for screening large numbers of biomass samples and reaction conditions in a complex sample matrix. Dilute acid or ammonia-pretreated corn stover was used as a model biomass for these studies. Ammonia pretreatment was suitable for subsequent measurements with Raman spectroscopy, but dilute acid-pretreated corn stover generated a large background signal that surpassed the Raman signal. The background signal is attributed to lignin, which remains in the plant tissue after dilute acid pretreatment. A commercial enzyme mixture was used for the enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover, and glucose levels were measured with a dispersive 785 nm Raman spectrometer. The glucose detection limit in hydrolysis liquor by Raman spectroscopy was 8 g L⁻¹. The mean hydrolysis efficiency for three replicate measurements obtained with Raman spectroscopy (86 ± 4%) was compared to the result obtained using an enzymatic reaction with UV-vis spectrophotometry detection (78 ± 8%). The results indicate good accuracy, as determined using a Student's t-test, and better precision for the Raman spectroscopy measurement relative to the enzymatic detection assay. The detection of glucose in hydrolysis broth by Raman spectroscopy showed no spectral interference, provided the sample was filtered to remove insoluble cellulose prior to analysis. The hydrolysate was further subjected to fermentation to yield ethanol. The detection limit for ethanol in fermentation broth by Raman spectroscopy was found to be 6 g L⁻¹. Comparison of the fermentation efficiencies measured by Raman spectroscopy (80 ± 10%) and gas chromatrography-mass spectrometry (87 ± 9%) were statistically the same. The work demonstrates the utility of Raman spectroscopy for screening the entire conversion process to generate lignocellulosic ethanol.     

Direct determination of toxic trace metals in honey and sugars using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A rapid method for the determination of Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Mn and Zn in honey and sugars without prior digestion or ashing of the sample was developed, using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The critical instrumental parameters such as sample flow rate and radio frequency incident power were thoroughly optimized. The effect of matrix type and its concentration was also examined for glucose/fructose, sucrose and honey matrices. The sensitivity was investigated using calibration curves obtained in presence of the above matrices. The obtained recoveries for Cd, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni and Mn at the μg l⁻¹ level were satisfactory and practically independent of the matrix used for the calibration standards. The recoveries of Pb and Zn were less sufficient. Various commercial samples of honey, sugar, glucose and fructose were analyzed with respect to their toxic metal content. The method can be applied for routine analysis, quality and environmental pollution control purposes at the μg l⁻¹ level of concentration, after suitable dilution of the samples.     

A rapid automated method for wine analysis based upon sequential injection (SI)-FTIR spectrometry

A new process control methodology for the simultaneous determination of sugars, alcohols and organic acids in wine based on multivariate evaluation of mid-IR transmission spectra of wine samples is presented. In addition to ethanol several lower level wine components (glucose, fructose, glycerol, citric-, tartaric-, malic-, lactic- and acetic acid) were determined. To establish a multivariate calibration model a set of 72 calibration solutions was prepared and measured, using a novel, fully automated sequential injection (SI) system with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) detection. The resulting spectra were evaluated using a partial least square (PLS) model. The developed PLS model was then applied to the analysis of real wine samples containing 79–91 g L^–1 ethanol, 5.9–8.1 g L^–1 glycerol, 0.4–6.9 g L^–1 glucose, 1.5–7.5 g L^–1 fructose, 0.3–1.6 g L^–1 citric acid, 1.0–1.7 g L^–1 tartaric acid, 0.02–3.2 g L^–1 malic acid, 0.4–2.8 g L^–1 lactic acid and 0.15–0.60 g L^–1 acetic acid, yielding results which were in good agreement with those obtained by an external reference method (HPLC-IR). The short analysis time (less than 3 min) together with high reproducibility makes the newly developed method applicable to process control and screening purposes (average of the standard deviations calculated from four repetitive measurements of six different real samples: ethanol: 0.55 g L^–1, glycerol: 0.037 g L^–1, glucose: 0.056 g L^–1, fructose: 0.036 g L^–1, citric acid: 0.020 g L^–1, tartaric acid: 0.010 g L^–1, malic acid: 0.052 g L^–1, lactic acid: 0.012 g L^–1 and acetic acid: 0.026 g L^–1). Received: 21 January 1998 / Revised: 5 March 1998 / Accepted: 6 March 1998     

Infrared Spectroscopy as Alternative to Wet Chemical Analysis to Characterize Eucalyptus globulus Pulps and Predict Their Ethanol Yield for a Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation Process

Bioethanol can be obtained from wood by simultaneous enzymatic saccharification and fermentation step (SSF). However, for enzymatic process to be effective, a pretreatment is needed to break the wood structure and to remove lignin to expose the carbohydrates components. Evaluation of these processes requires characterization of the materials generated in the different stages. The traditional analytical methods of wood, pretreated materials (pulps), monosaccharides in the hydrolyzated pulps, and ethanol involve laborious and destructive methodologies. This, together with the high cost of enzymes and the possibility to obtain low ethanol yields from some pulps, makes it suitable to have rapid, nondestructive, less expensive, and quantitative methods to monitoring the processes to obtain ethanol from wood. In this work, infrared spectroscopy (IR) accompanied with multivariate analysis is used to characterize chemically organosolv pretreated Eucalyptus globulus pulps (glucans, lignin, and hemicellulosic sugars), as well as to predict the ethanol yield after a SSF process. Mid (4,000–400 cm^?1) and near-infrared (12,500–4,000 cm^?1) spectra of pulps were used in order to obtain calibration models through of partial least squares regression (PLS). The obtained multivariate models were validated by cross validation and by external validation. Mid-infrared (mid-IR)/NIR PLS models to quantify ethanol concentration were also compared with a mathematical approach to predict ethanol yield estimated from the chemical composition of the pulps determined by wet chemical methods (discrete chemical data). Results show the high ability of the infrared spectra in both regions, mid-IR and NIR, to calibrate and predict the ethanol yield and the chemical components of pulps, with low values of standard calibration and validation errors (root mean square error of calibration, root mean square error of validation (RMSEV), and root mean square error of prediction), high correlation between predicted and measured by the reference methods values (R ² between 0.789 and 0.997), and adequate values of the ratio between the standard deviation of the reference methods and the standard errors of infrared PLS models relative performance determinant (RPD) (greater than 3 for majority of the models). Use of IR for ethanol quantification showed similar and even better results to the obtained with the discrete chemical data, especially in the case of mid-IR models, where ethanol concentration can be estimated with a RMSEV equal to 1.9 g?L^?1. These results could facilitate the analysis of high number of samples required in the evaluation and optimization of the processes.     

Monitoring large scale wine fermentations with infrared spectroscopy

Negative effects on wine quality and productivity caused by stuck and sluggish fermentations can be reduced significantly, if such problems are detected early through periodic chemical analysis. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) has been used successfully for monitoring fermentations, since many compounds can be measured quickly from a single sample without prior treatment. Nevertheless, few applications of this technology in large scale winemaking have been reported, and these do not cover the entire fermentation from must to finished wine. In this work, we developed IR calibrations for analyzing the fermenting must at any stage of fermentation. The calibration model was obtained with multivariable partial least squares and proved effective for analyzing Cabernet Sauvignon fermentations for glucose, fructose, glycerol, ethanol, and the organic acids; malic, tartaric, succinic, lactic, acetic, and citric. Upon external validation we found an average relative predictive error of 4.8%. Malic acid showed the largest relative predictive error (8.7%). In addition, external validation found that insufficient data for these calibrations made the analysis of fermenting musts using other grape varieties less reliable.     

An integrated electrochemical fructose biosensor based on tetrathiafulvalene-modified self-assembled monolayers on gold electrodes

An integrated amperometric fructose biosensor based on a gold electrode (AuE) modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) on which fructose dehydrogenase (FDH) and the mediator tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) are co-immobilized by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde is reported. Variables concerning the behavior of the biosensor were optimized by taking the slope value obtained for the fructose calibration plot in the 0.1–1.0 mM concentration range as a criterion of selection. At an applied potential of +0.20 V, a good repeatability of such slope values (RSD=6.7%, n=10) was obtained with no need to apply a cleaning or pretreatment procedure to the modified electrode. Moreover, results from five different TTF-FDH-MPA-AuEs yielded a RSD of 5.8%. The useful lifetime of one single biosensor was approximately 30 days, exhibiting a 93% of the original response on the 33rd day. A linear calibration graph was obtained for fructose over the 1.0×10^–5–1.0×10^–3 M range, with a limit of detection of 2.4×10^–6 M. The effect of potential interferents was evaluated. The TTF-FDH-MPA-AuE also performed well in the flow-injection mode. The biosensor was used for the determination of fructose in real samples, and the results compared with those provided by using a commercial enzyme test kit.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of rhodamine derivatives

The microwave synthesis of 12 rhodamine-derived imines is described. The present work involves condensation of rhodamine hydrazide with various aromatic aldehydes in ethanol under microwave irradiation. The results obtained indicate that, unlike classical heating, microwave irradiation results in higher yields, shorter reaction time, mild reaction condition and simple work-up procedure. The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, FT-IR and high-resolution mass spectra data.     

Physicochemical properties of Water-Soluble Fullerene C60-Carbohydrate Composites

Water-soluble composites of fullerene C60 with carbohydrates (saccharose, fructose, and dextrans) prepared by the mechanochemical procedure were analyzed by electronic absorption and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, thin-layer chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Application of FT-MIR spectrometry in wine analysis

By means of liquid Fourier transform-middle infrared spectrometry, it is possible to analyse wine and must within 90 s simultaneously on a significant number of important parameters like alcohol, relative density, extract, sugar-free extract, refraction, conductivity, glycerol, total phenols, reducing sugar, fructose, glucose, sucrose, total acid, pH value, volatile acid, total SO₂ and tartaric acid, malic acid, lactic acid and citric acid. Within a short time, it is possible to obtain information on the chemical composition of the product and it is useful to monitor the changes in chemical composition from beginning of grape ripening, must and fermentation to finished wines. Additionally, it is possible to obtain a fingerprint of the products which can serve as an identity check for quality management and production control. In the first part, a sample set with 327 typical German wines from 1989 to 2001 were analysed using Fourier transform-middle infrared spectrometry (FT-MIR) and also with different reference methods. In the second part, the results of a Ring test with 52 typical wines from each of 13 German wine regions are discussed. The results from this study demonstrated that a calibration model could be transferred between FT-MIR machines with the same hardware. The inter-laboratory reproducibility proved to be satisfactory and the instrument results were comparable with those obtained by the “classical reference methods”.     

A kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of ternary mixtures of reducing sugars with the aid of artificial neural networks and multivariate calibration

A differential spectrophotometric method has been developed for the simultaneous quantitative determination of glucose (GLU), fructose (FRU) and lactose (LAC) in food samples. It relies on the different kinetic rates of the analytes in their oxidative reaction with potassium ferricyanide (K₃Fe(CN)₆) as the oxidant. The reaction data were recorded at the analytical wavelength (420 nm) of the K₃Fe(CN)₆ spectrum. Since the kinetic runs of glucose, fructose and lactose overlap seriously, the condition number was calculated for the data matrix to assist with the optimisation of the experimental conditions. Values of 80 °C and 1.5 mol l⁻¹ were selected for the temperature and concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), respectively. Linear calibration graphs were obtained in the concentration range of 2.96-66.7, 3.21-67.1 and 4.66-101 mg l⁻¹ for glucose, fructose and lactose, respectively. Synthetic mixtures of the three reducing sugar were analysed, and the data obtained were processed by chemometrics methods, such as partial least square (PLS), principal component regression (PCR), classical least square (CLS), back propagation-artificial neural network (BP-ANN) and radial basis function-artificial neural network (RBF-ANN), using the normal and the first-derivative kinetic data. The results show that calibrations based on first-derivative data have advantages for the prediction of the analytes and the RBF-ANN gives the lowest prediction errors of the five chemometrics methods. Following the validation of the proposed method, it was applied for the determination of the three reducing sugars in several commercial food samples; and the standard addition method yielded satisfactory recoveries in all instances.     

On-line gradient liquid chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry determination of sugars in beverages using chemometric background correction

An on-line gradient reversed phase liquid chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (LC-FTIR) method was developed for the determination of fructose, glucose, sucrose and maltose in beverages. Improved chromatographic resolution was obtained using a linear gradient from 75 to 55% (v/v) acetonitrile in water in 15 min. Changes in the background spectra were corrected employing “univariate background correction based on the use of a reference spectra matrix” (UBC-RSM) and using the ratio of absorbance (AR) at 2256 and 2253 cm⁻¹ for the identification of the eluent spectra within the RSM. The method provided limits of detection in the order of 0.75 mg ml⁻¹. The precision (as relative standard deviation) ranged between 3.3 and 4.1% for glucose and fructose, respectively at a concentration level of 3.0 mg ml⁻¹. Quantitative recovery values on spiked samples confirmed the accuracy of the method. A set of samples from the Spanish market were analysed to test the suitability of the procedure.     

A simple and fast procedure for the determination of Al, Cu, Fe and Mn in biodiesel using high-resolution continuum source electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A procedure for the determination of Al, Cu, Fe and Mn in biodiesel samples by high resolution continuum source electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. Sample preparation consists in simply diluting the biodiesel samples with ethanol at room temperature. For Al determination, a Zr-treated graphite tube was used as permanent modifier; for the other analytes no modifier was required. Calibration was carried out against aqueous standards, except for Al, for which calibration solutions were prepared using ethanol. Accuracy was verified by means of recovery tests and comparison with the results obtained using a different analytical procedure. The precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation, was typically better than 7%. Detection limits at ng g⁻¹ levels for all analytes were obtained. The concentration of the analytes in biodiesel samples was generally very low, around a few tens of ng g⁻¹, except for two samples for which the Fe concentrations were in the μg g⁻¹ level. The proposed method has proved to be simple, precise and accurate.     

Solid sampling Fourier transform infrared determination of Mancozeb in pesticide formulations

A series of approaches have been assayed for FTIR determination of Mancozeb in several solid commercial fungicides using different calibration strategies. The simplest procedure was based on the use of the ratio between the absorbance of a characteristic band of Mancozeb and that of a KSCN internal standard measured in the FTIR spectra obtained from KBr pellets. It was employed the quotient between peak height absorbance values at 1525 cm⁻¹ for Mancozeb and 2070 cm⁻¹ for KSCN. In these conditions a precision as relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.6% and a relative accuracy error of 0.8% (w/w) were found. For complex formulations, containing other compounds with characteristic absorption bands at different wavenumbers than Mancozeb, one of them was used as internal reference being employed the standard addition approach. In this case, the Mancozeb bands at 1525 cm⁻¹ or at 1289 cm⁻¹ were employed, being used the ferrocyanide band at 2075 cm⁻¹ as internal reference. RSD values between 0.7-1.4% and a relative accuracy error of 3% (w/w) were found. A third strategy was based on the use of partial least squares (PLS) calibration. A reference set was prepared mixing Mancozeb, Kaolin, Cymoxanil and KBr, being predicted the Mancozeb concentration in pesticide formulations by using the quotient between absorbance bands of Mancozeb and those of Cymoxanil. In these conditions a relative accuracy error of 0.6% (w/w) and a relative standard deviation of 1.3% were found.     

A rapid automated method for wine analysis based upon sequential injection (SI)-FTIR spectrometry

A new process control methodology for the simultaneous determination of sugars, alcohols and organic acids in wine based on multivariate evaluation of mid-IR transmission spectra of wine samples is presented. In addition to ethanol several lower level wine components (glucose, fructose, glycerol, citric-, tartaric-, malic-, lactic- and acetic acid) were determined. To establish a multivariate calibration model a set of 72 calibration solutions was prepared and measured, using a novel, fully automated sequential injection (SI) system with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) detection. The resulting spectra were evaluated using a partial least square (PLS) model. The developed PLS model was then applied to the analysis of real wine samples containing 79–91 g L^–1 ethanol, 5.9–8.1 g L^–1 glycerol, 0.4–6.9 g L^–1 glucose, 1.5–7.5 g L^–1 fructose, 0.3–1.6 g L^–1 citric acid, 1.0–1.7 g L^–1 tartaric acid, 0.02–3.2 g L^–1 malic acid, 0.4–2.8 g L^–1 lactic acid and 0.15–0.60 g L^–1 acetic acid, yielding results which were in good agreement with those obtained by an external reference method (HPLC-IR). The short analysis time (less than 3 min) together with high reproducibility makes the newly developed method applicable to process control and screening purposes (average of the standard deviations calculated from four repetitive measurements of six different real samples: ethanol: 0.55 g L^–1, glycerol: 0.037 g L^–1, glucose: 0.056 g L^–1, fructose: 0.036 g L^–1, citric acid: 0.020 g L^–1, tartaric acid: 0.010 g L^–1, malic acid: 0.052 g L^–1, lactic acid: 0.012 g L^–1 and acetic acid: 0.026 g L^–1).     

Process Development for the Detoxification of Fermentation Inhibitors from Acid Pretreated Microalgae Hydrolysate

The aim of this study was to remove 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF) and furfural, known as fermentation inhibitors, in acid pretreated hydrolysates (APH) obtained from Scenedesmus obliquus using activated carbon. Microwave-assisted pretreatment was used to produce APH containing glucose, xylose, and fermentation inhibitors (5-HMF, furfural). The response surface methodology was applied to optimize key detoxification variables such as temperature (16.5–58.5 °C), time (0.5–5.5 h), and solid–liquid (S-L) ratio of activated carbon (0.6–7.4 w/v%). Three variables showed significant effects on the removal of fermentation inhibitors. The optimum detoxification conditions with the maximum removal of fermentation inhibitors and the minimum loss of sugars (glucose and xylose) were as follows: temperature of 36.6 °C, extraction time of 3.86 h, and S-L ratio of 3.3 w/v%. Under these conditions, removal of 5-HMF, furfural, and sugars were 71.6, 83.1, and 2.44%, respectively, which agreed closely with the predicted values. When the APH and detoxified APH were used for ethanol fermentation by S. cerevisiae, the ethanol produced was 38.5% and 84.5% of the theoretical yields, respectively, which confirmed that detoxification using activated carbon was effective in removing fermentation inhibitors and increasing fermentation yield without significant removal of fermentable sugars.     

Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of germanium in soils using ultrasound-assisted leaching

A procedure for determining germanium in soil samples using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry is discussed. The analyte is leached from the solid sample by the addition of 1 ml of concentrated hydrofluoric acid to 10-300 mg of sample, and the mixture is then submitted to a 10 min ultrasonic treatment. After adding 0.4 g boric acid and 3 ml concentrated hydrochloric acid, germanium is extracted into 1 ml chloroform and back-extracted into an aqueous phase containing (0.05%, w/v) nickel nitrate. Ten micro liter of aqueous phase are introduced into the atomizer and the analytical signal from germanium is obtained using a fast-heating cycle. The detection limit, calculated using three times the standard error of estimate (s_y/x) of the calibration graph, is 0.015 μg g⁻¹. The reliability of the procedure is verified by analyzing several certified reference materials.     

Multicommutation ATR-FTIR: determination of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate in detergent formulations

The mechanization of attenuated total reflectance measurements (ATR) in Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR) through the use of multicommutation has been evaluated in order to reduce the sample consumption and waste generation also avoiding risks of cells breaking. A new multicommutation ATR-FTIR procedure has been proposed for the determination of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) in liquid detergent formulations. The main advantages of this method are the low consumption of sample (96 ml per 100 determinations) and the analytical throughput (23 h⁻¹ versus 15 h⁻¹ for the manual mode). Results obtained for reference samples containing 7.52% to 9.52% (w/w) of AOS are in the 0.5% (w/w) error range, with a mean precision of 0.3% RSD. Recovery studies evidence the accuracy of the method, with average values around 100%. It was evaluated the possibilities of ATR-FTIR analysis of different types of liquid samples like beer, orange juice, milk and olive oil, showing the great versatility and applications of this approach to improve sample introduction and cell cleaning.