A novel electronic nose based on miniaturized SAW sensor arrays coupled with SPME enhanced headspace-analysis and its use for rapid determination of volatile organic compounds in food quality monitoring

Instrumental methods and sensory analysis are described as usable tools for the determination of the storage period, the quality and the origin of food. Apart from the time-consuming aspect of these methods, they are sensitive to misinterpretation. The use of polymer coated surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor arrays combined with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a very promising technique for highly sensitive and selective organic gas detection. Beside new developments in the fabrication of SAW sensors, the evaluation of SPME parameters enables now the highly reproducible detection of volatiles in the ppm and ppb range. In this work we present the coupling of a SAW based micronose, with the SPME technique in conjunction with headspace auto sampling. To prove the practical usage of this analytical concept in the field of food quality control different tests were successful conducted. Differentiation between apple varieties, ripe and unripe pineapple, and finally the detection of an off-flavor in sugar. The main advantages of this setup include its rapidity (short preparation times, short extraction times, short measuring times), simplicity and last but not least the low-costs. Since this device is easy to handle a broad range of applications is possible, e.g. on-line measurement of chemical and biochemical processes, supplement for human sensory experiments and detection of microorganisms contamination.

[1]  Janusz Pawliszyn,et al.  Solid phase microextraction : theory and practice , 1997 .

[2]  R. Baer,et al.  STW chemical sensors , 1992, IEEE 1992 Ultrasonics Symposium Proceedings.

[3]  Michael J. Vellekoop,et al.  A love wave sensor for (bio)chemical sensing in liquids , 1994 .

[4]  Antonio J. Ricco,et al.  Characterization of SH acoustic plate mode liquid sensors , 1989 .

[5]  Michael Rapp,et al.  Comparative studies on polymer coated SAW and STW resonators for chemical gas sensor applications , 2000, Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE/EIA International Frequency Control Symposium and Exhibition (Cat. No.00CH37052).

[6]  N. Snow,et al.  Head-space analysis in modern gas chromatography , 2002 .

[7]  J. Pawliszyn.  Applications of Solid Phase Microextraction , 1999 .

[8]  T. Wessa,et al.  Validation of an industrial analytical sensor procedure realized with a SAW-based sensor system , 2000 .

[9]  I Karube,et al.  A novel method of immobilizing antibodies on a quartz crystal microbalance using plasma-polymerized films for immunosensors. , 1996, Analytical chemistry.

[10]  L. Montanarella,et al.  Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Analysis of Volatile Organic Sulfur Compounds in Black and White Truffle Aroma , 1995 .

[11]  Raymond E. Dessy,et al.  Surface acoustic wave probe for chemical analysis. I. Introduction and instrument description , 1979 .

[12]  J. Reibel,et al.  New miniaturized SAW-sensor array for organic gas detection driven by multiplexed oscillators , 2000 .

[13]  T. Peppard,et al.  Solid-phase microextraction of flavor compounds : a comparison of two fiber coatings and a discussion of the rules of thumb for adsorption , 1995 .

[14]  J. Pawliszyn,et al.  Solid phase microextraction with thermal desorption using fused silica optical fibers , 1990 .

[15]  Janusz Pawliszyn,et al.  Headspace solid-phase microextraction , 1993 .

[16]  Nicole Barié,et al.  Development of a preconcentration unit for a SAW sensor micro array and its use for indoor air quality monitoring , 2003 .