Comparison of partial least squares regression and multi-layer neural networks for quantification of nonlinear systems and application to gas phase Fourier transform infrared spectra

The performance of back-propagation artificial neural networks (NN) and partial least squares (PLS) regression for the calibration of linear and nonlinear systems has been investigated by using six types of synthetic data. Three PLS methods, conventional linear-PLS and two nonlinear-PLS methods, have been used in the study. In all but one of the synthetic data types, the band intensities varied nonlinearly with concentration. These five data types were designed to represent the effect of band shifts with increasing concentration, a nonlinear relationship between peak height and concentration, or a combination of both types of nonlinearities. The results showed that NNs perform better than PLS for all the nonlinear datasets. When a band shift is the major reason for the nonlinearity, the relative performance of NNs and PLS depends on the overlap of the absorption bands. If there is no band overlap, neither NN nor PLS can calibrate the data accurately but the results could be improved by convolving the spectral features with a Gaussian broadening function. The results indicate that a combination of peak position shift and peak height change is the most difficult nonlinearity to calibrate. NN and PLS were also used to determine the concentration of CHCl₃ in pure component and mixtures of CHCl₃ and CH₂Cl₂ using their Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, a dataset that has been proved nonlinear in high concentrations due to the nonlinear response of the detector. The best results for the experimental data were obtained by applying one hidden layer NN to the mean-centered absorbance spectra.     

Fourier transform infrared quantitative analysis of sugars and lignin in pretreated softwood solid residues

Hydrolysates were obtained from dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of whole-tree softwood forest thinnings and softwood sawdust. Mid-infrared (IR) spectra were obtained on sample sets of wet washed hydrolysates, and 45°C vacuum-dried washed hydrolysates, using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometrer equipped with a diamond-composite attenuated total reflectance (ATR) cell. Partial least squares (PLS) analyiss of spectra from each sample set was performed. Regression analyses for sugar components and lignin were generated using results obtained from standard wet chemical and high-performance liquid chromatography methods. The correlation coefficients of the predicted and measured values were >0.9. The root mean square standard error of the estimate for each component in the residues was generally within 2 wt% of the measured value except where reported in the tables. The PLS regression analysis of the wet washed solids was similar to the PLS regression analysis on the 45°C vacuum-dried sample set. The FTIR-ATR technique allows mid-IR spectra to be obtained in a few minutes from wet washed or dried washed pretreated biomass solids. The prediction of the solids composition of an unknown washed pretreated solid is very rapid once the PLS method has been calibrated with known standard solid residues.     

Application of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and orthogonal projections to latent structures/partial least squares regression for estimation of procyanidins average degree of polymerisation

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has being emphasised as a widespread technique in the quick assess of food components. In this work, procyanidins were extracted with methanol and acetone/water from the seeds of white and red grape varieties. A fractionation by graded methanol/chloroform precipitations allowed to obtain 26 samples that were characterised using thiolysis as pre-treatment followed by HPLC-UV and MS detection. The average degree of polymerisation (DPn) of the procyanidins in the samples ranged from 2 to 11 flavan-3-ol residues. FTIR spectroscopy within the wavenumbers region of 1800-700 cm⁻¹ allowed to build a partial least squares (PLS1) regression model with 8 latent variables (LVs) for the estimation of the DPn, giving a RMSECV of 11.7%, with a R² of 0.91 and a RMSEP of 2.58. The application of orthogonal projection to latent structures (O-PLS1) clarifies the interpretation of the regression model vectors. Moreover, the O-PLS procedure has removed 88% of non-correlated variations with the DPn, allowing to relate the increase of the absorbance peaks at 1203 and 1099 cm⁻¹ with the increase of the DPn due to the higher proportion of substitutions in the aromatic ring of the polymerised procyanidin molecules.     

Determination of lecithin and soybean oil in dietary supplements using partial least squares-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Lecithin and soybean oil in dietary supplements were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry transmission measurements in dichloromethane in combination with a partial least squares (PLS) regression. Two different PLS models were developed, using 16 synthetic mixtures of analytes in dichloromethane, making measurements in the spectral range from 931.8 to 1252.3 cm⁻¹ for lecithin and from 911.4 to 1246.9 cm⁻¹ and 1695.3 to 1774.5 cm⁻¹ for soybean oil. Seven products from the Spanish market with lecithin concentrations between 21.1% and 99.1% and soybean oil concentrations between 0% and 37.2% were analyzed by the proposed method and the data was compared to a chromatographic reference procedure obtaining accurate results. For samples spiked with amounts between 50 and 250 mg of lecithin and soybean oil recovery percentages between 98.0% and 102.1% and between 93.6% and 102.0% with an average precision of 0.35% and 0.41% were achieved for lecithin and soybean oil, respectively. This method can be applied for the quality control of dietary supplements.     

Determination of sugars in depilatory formulations: a green analytical method employing infrared detection and partial least squares regression

A green analytical method was developed for the analysis of sugar-based depilatories. Three independent partial least squares (PLS) regression models were built for the direct determination of glucose, fructose and maltose without any sample pretreatment based on their attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra. The models showed adequate prediction capabilities with root-mean-square-errors of prediction ranging from 7.04 to 12.55 mg sugar g⁻¹ sample. As a reference procedure, gradient liquid chromatography with on-line infrared detection, employing background correction based on cubic smoothing splines, was used. The analysis revealed changes in the sugar concentration due to the formulation process as compared to information on the ingredients provided by the manufacturers. Although fructose, glucose and sucrose were declared to be used for the production of depilatories, in the final products only fructose, glucose and maltose were determined. This fact was attributed to pH and temperature conditions employed during the production process as well as to the use of glucose syrup instead of crystalline glucose. The present ATR-FTIR-PLS method enables an accurate, cheap and fast determination without solvent consumption or toxic waste generation and offers therefore a green screening alternative to methods employing chromatographic techniques.     

Development of an on-site screening system for amphetamine-type stimulant tablets with a portable attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectrometer

We tried to develop a library search system using a portable, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FT-IR) spectrometer for on-site identification of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) tablets. The library consisted of the spectra from mixtures of controlled drugs (e.g. MDMA and ketamine), adulterants (e.g. caffeine), and diluents (e.g. lactose). In the seven library search algorithms, the derivative correlation coefficient showed the best discriminant capability. This was enhanced by segmentation of the search area. The optimized search algorithm was validated by the positive (n = 154, e.g. the standard mixtures containing the controlled drug, and the MDMA/MDA tablets confiscated) and negative samples (n = 56, e.g. medicinal tablets). All validation samples except for four were judged truly. Final criteria for positive identification were decided on the basis of the results of the validation. In conclusion, a portable ATR-FT-IR spectrometer with our library search system would be a useful tool for on-site identification of amphetamine-type stimulant tablets.     

Combining orthogonal signal correction and wavelet packet transform with partial least squares to analyze overlapping spectra of three kinds of metal ions

A novel method named OSC-WPT-PLS approach based on partial least squares (PLS) regression with orthogonal signal correction (OSC) and wavelet packet transform (WPT) as pre-processed tools was proposed for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of Al(III), Mn(II) and Co(II). This method combines the ideas of OSC and WPT with PLS regression for enhancing the ability of extracting characteristic information and the quality of regression. OSC is used to remove information in the response matrix D by subtracting the structured noise that is orthogonal to the concentration matrix C. Wavelet packet transform was applied to perform data compression, to extract relevant information, and to eliminate noise and collinearity. PLS was applied for multivariate calibration and noise reduction by eliminating the less important latent variables. In this case, using trials, the kind of wavelet function, the decomposition level, the number of OSC components and the number of PLS factors for the OSC-WPT-PLS method were selected as Daubechies 4, 3, 2 and 3, respectively. A program (POSCWPTPLS) was designed to perform the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of Al(III), Mn(II) and Co(II). The relative standard errors of prediction (RSEP) obtained for total elements using OSC-WPT-PLS, WPT-PLS and PLS were compared. Experimental results demonstrated that the OSC-WPT-PLS method had the best performance among the three methods and was successful even when there was severe overlap of spectra.     

Comparative analysis of smokeless gunpowders by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopic techniques were used to perform a comparative study of the spectral profiles of single-base, double-base and triple-base smokeless gunpowders. Preliminary results based on visual comparison of the spectra point out that spectra obtained by both vibrational techniques were useful for a rapid identification of gunpowders containing dinitrotoluene as one of the major components and triple-base gunpowders. Additionally, the Raman spectra of gunpowders with diphenylamine in its primary composition showed a characteristic band, assigned to 2-nitro-diphenylamine, allowing the identification of this type of gunpowders.     

Fourier transform infrared spectrometric strategies for the determination of Buprofezin in pesticide formulations

Two different strategies for Buprofezin determination, an off-line extraction and stopped-flow determination and an automated procedure, based on the on-line extraction of Buprofezin samples with chloroform and flowing action analysis-fourier transform infrared (FIA-FT-IR) spectrometric measurement of the extracts, have been developed. For the treatment of the off-line extraction mode, data a three-factor partial least squares (PLSs) calibration was developed, using the region from 1465.7 to 1342.3 cm⁻¹ with a single point baseline defined at 2051.9 cm⁻¹ and based on the use of chloroform solutions of Buprofezin. The method provides a R.S.D. <0.1%, recoveries of the order of 100% and generates 25 ml of CHCl₃ waste for each sample.On the other hand, the recommended FIA method provided a 3 s limit of detection of 20 μg ml⁻¹, which corresponds to 0.12% (w/w) in the solid sample, a repeatability of 0.8% as R.S.D., and a maximum sampling frequency for the whole procedure of 6 h⁻¹.The waste generation, being lower than the off-line strategy, is only 3 ml of CHCl₃ per sample.     

傅里叶变换红外光谱法应用于水-乙醇溶液中海南霉素的测定

随着化学计量学方法处理光谱重叠和光谱采样技术的发展,红外光谱应用于多组份同时定量分析和过程分析的研究日益受到人们的关注^[1～5].海南霉素(C₄₇H₇₉O₁₅Na,分子量907.122)是国家一类新药,用于防治鸡球虫病,易溶于有机溶剂,不溶于水.     

Determination of the diffusion coefficient of water into atelocollagen type I thin films by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

 The diffusion coefficient of water into thin polymer layers of glutar aldehyde cross-linked atelocollagen type I matrix (sample 1, the typical layer thickness was about 0.065 × 10⁻³ m) at 23 °C was 1.142 × 10⁻¹⁰ m² s⁻¹. At twice the concentration of the cross-linking agent (sample 2) the diffusion coefficient was 2.795 × 10⁻¹⁰ m² s⁻¹. This increase was attributed to the more ordered morphology and the creation of ordered microvoids in the film. A larger surface area is then available for the transport of diffusing molecules, allowing a higher penetration rate of the solvent. Received: 11 January 2000/Accepted: 6 May 2000     

Application of point-to-point matching algorithms for background correction in on-line liquid chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (LC-FTIR)

A new background correction method for the on-line coupling of gradient liquid chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry has been developed. It is based on the use of a point-to-point matching algorithm that compares the absorption spectra of the sample data set with those of a previously recorded reference data set in order to select an appropriate reference spectrum. The spectral range used for the point-to-point comparison is selected with minimal user-interaction, thus facilitating considerably the application of the whole method. The background correction method has been successfully tested on a chromatographic separation of four nitrophenols running acetonitrile (0.08%, v/v TFA):water (0.08%, v/v TFA) gradients with compositions ranging from 35 to 85% (v/v) acetonitrile, giving accurate results for both, baseline resolved and overlapped peaks.     

Detecting the quality of glycerol monolaurate: A method for using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with wavelet transform and modified uninformative variable elimination

Glycerol monolaurate (GML) products contain many impurities, such as lauric acid and glucerol. The GML content is an important quality indicator for GML production. A hybrid variable selection algorithm, which is a combination of wavelet transform (WT) technology and modified uninformative variable eliminate (MUVE) method, was proposed to extract useful information from Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) transmission spectroscopy for the determination of GML content. FT-IR spectra data were compressed by WT first; the irrelevant variables in the compressed wavelet coefficients were eliminated by MUVE. In the MUVE process, simulated annealing (SA) algorithm was employed to search the optimal cutoff threshold. After the WT-MUVE process, variables for the calibration model were reduced from 7366 to 163. Finally, the retained variables were employed as inputs of partial least squares (PLS) model to build the calibration model. For the prediction set, the correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9910 and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 4.8617 were obtained. The prediction result was better than the PLS model with full-spectra data. It was indicated that proposed WT-MUVE method could not only make the prediction more accurate, but also make the calibration model more parsimonious. Furthermore, the reconstructed spectra represented the projection of the selected wavelet coefficients into the original domain, affording the chemical interpretation of the predicted results. It is concluded that the FT-IR transmission spectroscopy technique with the proposed method is promising for the fast detection of GML content.     

Detection of volatile organic compounds by temperature-programmed desorption combined with mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

A temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) device connected to a mass spectrometer was used to detect volatile organic compounds from air samples. The main aim was to develop an analytical method, by which both non-polar and polar organic components can be detected in the same run. In TPD, the adsorbed compounds are desorbed from the resin more slowly than in the conventional trapping techniques, such as purge-and-trap technique, in which the resin is flash-heated and the compounds are desorbed at the same time to a cryogenic trap or an analytical column. In TPD, the adsorbent resin acts also as an analytical column. In this way it is possible to obtain more rapid analysis, and also a more simple instrumentation, which can be used on-line and on-site. In this work, a new version of TPD device, which uses a resistor for heating and a Peltier element for rapid cooling, was designed and constructed. Various adsorbent resins were tested for their adsorption and desorption properties of both polar and non-polar compounds. When using a mixture of adsorbent resins, Tenax TA and HayeSep D, it was possible to analyze both polar, low-molecular weight compounds, such as methanol and ethanol, and non-polar volatile organic compounds, such as benzene and toluene, in the same run within 15 min including sampling. The same TPD principle was also tested using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer as an analytical instrument, and the results showed that it was possible to obtain a separation of similar compounds, such as hexane and heptane, and still retaining the same sensitivity as the original on-line FTIR instrument.     

Simultaneous determination of Folpet and Metalaxyl in pesticide formulations by flow injection Fourier transform infrared spectrometry

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometric methodology has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Folpet and Metalaxyl in pesticide formulations. The method involves the extraction of both active principles by sonication of the sample with CHCl₃ and direct measurement of the absorbance using peak height values at 1798 cm⁻¹ corrected with a baseline defined at 1810 cm⁻¹ for Folpet, and peak area data established from 1677 to 1667 cm⁻¹ corrected using a baseline from 1692 to 1628 cm⁻¹ for Metalaxyl. Limits of detection (3 s) values of 17 and 16 μg g⁻¹ were found for Folpet and Metalaxyl, respectively, with results comparable with those found by liquid chromatography with UV detection. The new method involves a considerable decrease in solvent consumption. The automation of the procedure by incorporating on-line dissolution and filtration of the samples allows complete mechanisation of the method and improves the safety of operation.     

Development and validation of a new Fourier transform infrared spectrometric method for the quantification of urea in creams and ointments

A new Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometric method for the quantification of urea in creams and ointments was developed and validated. The sample was solubilized in a mixture of chloroform/acetonitrile (1/1 v/v) which allows to solubilize the vaseline or other fats as well as urea and water. The solution was examined in a transmission cell with a pathlength of 500 μm provided with NaCl windows. The urea spectrum was obtained by subtraction of the reference solvent mixture spectrum and the reference water spectrum from the sample spectrum. The absorbance of the peak at ±1688 cm⁻¹ was compared to those of calibration standards to quantify urea. The detection limit and the quantification limit (three times and 10 times the noise, respectively) were estimated as 0.4 and 1.3 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. Validation of the method was realized and application of this method to stability tests was done.     

Adulteration of diesel/biodiesel blends by vegetable oil as determined by Fourier transform (FT) near infrared spectrometry and FT-Raman spectroscopy

In this work it has been shown that the routine ASTM methods (ASTM 4052, ASTM D 445, ASTM D 4737, ASTM D 93, and ASTM D 86) recommended by the ANP (the Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels) to determine the quality of diesel/biodiesel blends are not suitable to prevent the adulteration of B2 or B5 blends with vegetable oils. Considering the previous and actual problems with fuel adulterations in Brazil, we have investigated the application of vibrational spectroscopy (Fourier transform (FT) near infrared spectrometry and FT-Raman) to identify adulterations of B2 and B5 blends with vegetable oils. Partial least square regression (PLS), principal component regression (PCR), and artificial neural network (ANN) calibration models were designed and their relative performances were evaluated by external validation using the F-test. The PCR, PLS, and ANN calibration models based on the Fourier transform (FT) near infrared spectrometry and FT-Raman spectroscopy were designed using 120 samples. Other 62 samples were used in the validation and external validation, for a total of 182 samples. The results have shown that among the designed calibration models, the ANN/FT-Raman presented the best accuracy (0.028%, w/w) for samples used in the external validation.     

Fourier transform infrared spectra and micelle formation of sodiumn-alkanesulfonates in aqueous solution

The concentration dependences of the Fourier transform infrared spectra of aqueous solutions of sodiumn-pentanesulfonate,n-hexanesulfonate,n-heptanesulfonate, andn-octanesulfonate were studied in concentration ranges encompassing the critical micellization concentrations (c.m.c). Changes in wavenumber, bandwidth, and intensity of infrared absorption bands were used to monitor the changes in molecular association with concentration. The premicellar aggregation below the c.m.c. may accompany the association of the alkyl chain, but not the counter-ion binding with the SO ₃ ^– group. Above the c.m.c, the front location of the counter-ion against the SO ₃ ^– group at the micelle surface is demonstrated.     

Simultaneous measurement of glucose and glutamine in aqueous solutions by near infrared spectroscopy

A method is described for measuring the concentrations of both glucose and glutamine in binary mixtures from near infrared (NIR) absorption spectra. Spectra are collected over the range from 5000–4000/cm (2.0–2.5μm) with a 1-mm optical path length. Glucose absorbance features at 4710, 4400, and 4300/cm and glutamine features at 4700, 4580, and 4390/cm provide the analytical information required for the measurement. Multivariate calibration models are generated by using partial least squares (PLS) regression alone and PLS regression combined with a preprocessing digital Fourier filtering step. The ideal number of PLS factors and spectral range are identified separately for each analyte. In addition, the optimum Fourier filter parameters are established for both compounds. The best overall analytical performance is obtained by combining Fourier filtering and PLS regression. Glucose measurements are established over the concentration range from 1.66–59.91 mM, with a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 0.32 mM and a mean percent error of 1.84%. Glutamine can be measured over the concentration range from 1.10–30.65 mM with a SEP of 0.75 mM and a mean percent error of 6.67%. These results demonstrate the analytical utility of NIR spectroscopy for monitoring glucose and glutamine levels in mammalian and insect cell cultures.     

Diffusion measurements with fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy: Water diffusion in polypropylene*

The diffusion of pure liquid water into a commercial polypropylene (PP) film at 278–348 K was studied with Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy. Abnormal diffusion behavior was indicated by a significant deviation between the experimental data and a Fickian diffusion model with the conventional saturated boundary condition applied at the water/PP interface. This deviation was observed at all the temperatures studied. With a modified boundary condition that took into account a mass‐transfer resistance at the water/PP interface, the Fickian model was able to represent the experimental data satisfactorily. The average water diffusion coefficient varied between 1.41 and 7.64 × 10^?9 cm²/s, with an activation energy of diffusion of about 19.3 kJ/mol. The interfacial mass‐transfer resistance was represented by an exponential model with an empirical relaxation parameter. The relaxation parameter β increased as the temperature increased and reached an apparent plateau. The infrared spectrum indicated a positive chemical shift of 18 cm^?1 for the less strongly hydrogen‐bonded component of the broad hydroxyl stretching band with respect to pure liquid water, indicating that hydrogen‐bonding interactions were weakened or broken when water molecules diffused into the PP matrix. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 980–991, 2002