Monitoring of foreign compounds and additives: Novel approach using High-Resolution NMR analyses

Dr. Eric Jamin, Eurofins Analytics France

Sometimes it is difficult for laboratories to provide analytical solutions to specific client’s needs, because there are either no suitable tests available, or they require cumbersome and costly methods. However, in many cases, High-Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (HR-NMR) of hydrogen or carbon 13 can be used as an efficient tool to complete the normal range of tests usually performed by chromatography and other “conventional” techniques.

NMR is versatile and can be applied to liquids or extracts from solid foods. After limited sample preparation, a complete spectrum of the proton or carbon resonance can be obtained within a few minutes, offering a direct access to a wide range of key-analytes without the need to isolate them from the matrix.

One example of application in the laboratory is for the monitoring of detergent residues in various liquid matrices such as dairy products or drinks. A frequent request from food technologists, which is poorly covered by conventional analytical methods, is the need to validate their cleaning procedures to avoid cross contamination of their next production batches. A tailor-made HR-NMR test can be quickly set-up to check the removal of the active compounds from the production line.

Another routine application in the laboratory is the use of 1H-NMR to determine additives such as sweeteners (e.g. cyclamate, sucralose), in drinks and confectionary, as well as taurine, glucuronolactone and sulfite ammonia caramel (E150d) in soft drinks. This can avoid the use of several specific chromatographic procedures whilst offering a comparable level of accuracy and precision in quantification. The main advantages of this novel approach are: direct access to specific compounds, the possibility of multi-component quantification and short turn-around times.

Contact: ASMNantesAuthenticity@eurofins.com