Performing Department
Food Science
Non Technical Summary
To proactively ensure high-quality and safe agriculture and food products, there is a system-level need for affordable technologies capable of rapid, trace-level (sub-ppm) chemical characterization of large numbers of samples. Existing analytical approaches, e.g. mass spectrometry (MS), are relatively slow because of the need for prior sample extraction and pre-concentration, and are often unsuitable for routine, near-real time quality assurance. These sample preparation approaches are generally slow, expensive, technically challenging, and/or require large volumes of hazardous solvents. Smaller producers may also need to send samples for MS analysis to external service labs, which creates additional costs and logistical challenges for perishable samples. The overall goal of this research proposal is to create a novel, broadly applicable technology that addresses the need for convenient and inexpensive extraction and storage of bioactive compounds (toxins, flavor compounds, nutrients) from foods or other agricultural products prior to analytical analysis (e.g. mass spectrometry). Briefly, a sorbent polymer is "swelled" (expanded) with an appropriate solvent and then immersed in a sample, allowing for the direct extraction of trace-level compounds. The Swellable Sorbent Sheets can then be conveniently analyzed in-house or shipped by standard mail to service labs for analysis by MS or other techniques, eliminating the need for shipping or storage of perishable samples. In this proposed project, I will build a Swellable Sorbent Sheet device capable of parallel extraction for up to 24 samples and will broaden the range of extractable target analyses. This project specifically addresses the AFRI Farm Bill priority area "agriculture systems and technology." This technology will assist both small- and large-scale producers in scaling up analytical analyses as part of systems level testing.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
100%
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this research proposal is to create a novel, broadly applicable technology that addresses the need for convenient and inexpensive extraction, shipment, and storage of bioactive compounds (toxins, flavor compounds, nutrients) in foods or other agricultural products prior to analysis.The specific objectives of this project are:Develop a novel, durable, swellable device capable of performing simple, convenient, parallel trace-level extractions for food and agricultural analyses.Develop Swellable Sorbent Sheet devices for parallel extraction using a multi-parameter optimization approach.Validate Swellable Sorbent Sheet performance using carotenoids and volatiles from tomato samples and maize.Expand the range of extractable compounds by incorporating a second polymer into the sorbent layer of the extraction device and by exploring different solvent/polymer combinations.Expand the polarity of the extraction system using a multi-parameter optimization (both multipolymer and swelling solvent).Validate multipolymer Swellable Sorbent Sheet performance using semi-polar smoke-taint off-aromas in grapes.
Project Methods
For Objective 1:Physical characteristic data collected on the device will be used to determine durability and number of maximum uses. I will use absorbance data from a colorimeter or MS data and ANOVAs to compare the quantities of extracted compounds throughout the optimization process. In the validation study, I will calculate the correlation coefficients between the Swellable Sorbent Sheet method and LC-UV/VIS using the carotenoid data. For stability experiments, I will fit a regression on the colorimeter data to determine storage capabilities.For Objective 2:I will use ANOVAs to compare the differences in the quantities of extracted smoke-taint compounds (using MS data) from grapes based on various solvent and polymer combinations. The optimized system will be compared to the PDMS-only version from Objective 1 using a t-test. Finally, in the validation study, I will calculate at the correlation coefficients between the multipolymer Swellable Sorbent Sheet method and SPME-GC-MS using the smoke-taint data.