In-Situ Analysis of Essential Fragrant Oils Using a Portable Mass Spectrometer

Abstract

A portable mass spectrometer was coupled to a direct inlet membrane (DIM) probe and applied to the direct analysis of active fragrant compounds (3-methylbutyl acetate, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, methyl butanoate, and ethyl methyl sulfide) in real time. These fragrant active compounds are commonly used in the formulation of flavours and fragrances. Results obtained show that the portable mass spectrometer with a direct membrane inlet can be used to detect traces of the active fragrant compounds in complex mixtures such as essential fragrant oils and this represents a novel in-situ analysis methodology. Limits of detection (LOD) in the sub-ppb range (< 2.5 pg) are demonstrated. Standard samples in the gaseous phase presented very good linearity with RSD % at 5 to 7 for the selected active fragrant compounds (i.e., isoamyl acetate, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, methyl butanoate, and methyl ethyl sulphide). The rise and fall times of the DIM probe are in the ranges from 15 to 31 seconds and 23 to 41 seconds, respectively, for the standard model compounds analysed. The identities of the fragrance active compounds in essential oil samples (i.e., banana, tangerine, papaya, and blueberry muffin) were first identified by comparison with a standard fragrance compounds mixture using their major fragment peaks, the NIST standard reference library, and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. No sample preparation is required for analysis using a portable mass spectrometer coupled to a DIM probe, so the cycle time from ambient air sampling to the acquisition of the results is at least 65 seconds.

Application of the Metabolomics Approach in Food Authentication

“…High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is another application used in food safety to detect natural toxins, including mycotoxins, pesticides, and veterinary drug residues. Studies have reported the detection of new fungal metabolites, contaminants, and various food adulterants [59].…”

On the trail of primate scent signals: A field analysis of callitrichid scent‐gland secretions by portable gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry

“…More recently, several chromatography companies have begun developing miniaturized gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) devices, which can potentially conduct full chemical analyses of volatile components in remote conditions. These devices were originally developed for screening specific volatiles in the fields of environmental science (Feijó Barreira et al, 2015;Gałuszka et al, 2015), food manufacturing (Jjunju et al, 2019), and chemical warfare (Diken et al, 2012), but are now starting to be used in the field of animal chemosignaling. For example, the Inficon Hapsite® portable GC-MS device was used for the analysis of the body odor of common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, in both captive (Kücklich et al, 2017) and wild (Thompson et al, 2020) conditions.…”

Analysis of volatile emissions from grape berries infected with Aspergillus carbonarius using hyphenated and portable mass spectrometry

“…Details of the MIMS provision are given in a previous study 66 . The main parts of the MIMS system used during our experimental investigation have been described in detail previously 19 – 21 , 71 , 73 .…”

“…Sample molecules are adsorbed onto the membrane interface of the sample inlet of the MS system. They diffuse through it and then desorb into the vacuum system where they undergo thermionic ionization (if an in-vacuo ionization source such as an electron impact—EI is used) and mass-to-charge ( m/z ) separation 21 . Portable MS is an on-line measuring approach that can provide complete qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis of the chemical composition of any under investigation sample matrix 22 .…”