Miniaturized Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy – The Ultimate Analytical Tool in Food and Agriculture

Abstract

Near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is widely used in qualitative and quantitative analysis in various fields of applications. Compared to conventional methods of analytical chemistry, NIR spectroscopy offers many practical advantages in terms of speed, efficiency, minimal (or no) requirements for sample preparation, and the applicability to many types of samples. In the past decade, the technology of portable NIR spectrometers has rapidly advanced, which enabled new applications of this technique in science and industry where the capacity to perform spectral analysis directly on site is the key advantage. Miniaturization introduced NIR spectroscopy to practical use in analytical scenarios that were unattainable for standard laboratory equipment. The advantages of miniaturized NIR spectroscopy are particularly evident in several areas where fast and nondestructive on‐site analysis is essential – e.g. natural products and resources, and agri‐food items in particular. The sample types commonly focused in these applications are characterized by chemical complexity and diversity depending on the geographic origin, conditions of cultivation and/or storage, or harvest time. Miniaturization necessitated different engineering solutions that introduced wide diversity in the elements used for construction of portable spectrometers. Consequently, the applicability of these instruments and their performance in a given application attract keen attention. Intensive studies are devoted to method development and evaluation of miniaturized NIR sensors in a variety of analytical problems. This article discusses the essential topics related to fundamentals and applications of miniaturized NIR spectrometers, with an emphasis on practical applications in food and agriculture sectors. However, an overview of the design principles of portable NIR instruments and their relationships with analytical figures of merit are provided as well in an attempt to draw a comprehensive picture of the state‐of‐the‐art and future potential of this increasingly influential analytical technique.

Analyzing the Quality Parameters of Apples by Spectroscopy from Vis/NIR to NIR Region: A Comprehensive Review

“…This setup is used in the VIAVI MicroNIR 1700 ES spectrometer and enables collecting a high number of scans (i.e., integration time of 7.5 ns yielding spectrum in the region of 900-1600 nm; enabling the default measurement time consisting of 1000 averaged spectra in the total time of 7.5 s). With the increasing miniaturization and portability of NIR spectrometers, it has become possible to perform analysis on-site, in the field, or even in remote locations, opening up new possibilities for applications such as environmental monitoring and agricultural analysis [46,47]. Designed to be lightweight, compact, and easy to use, making them ideal for field use, these instruments are becoming increasingly popular in many scenarios, particularly in the agri-food sector (Figure 3).…”

“…Designed to be lightweight, compact, and easy to use, making them ideal for field use, these instruments are becoming increasingly popular in many scenarios, particularly in the agri-food sector (Figure 3). Being suited for direct on-site operation, those instruments are particularly useful for food producers, processors, and quality control professionals who need to analyze samples in real-time to ensure product quality and With the increasing miniaturization and portability of NIR spectrometers, it has become possible to perform analysis on-site, in the field, or even in remote locations, opening up new possibilities for applications such as environmental monitoring and agricultural analysis [46,47]. Designed to be lightweight, compact, and easy to use, making them ideal for field use, these instruments are becoming increasingly popular in many scenarios, particularly in the agri-food sector (Figure 3).…”

“…Miniaturized NIR or Vis/NIR instruments were extensively applied in the analysis of various properties of apples [46,47,[344][345][346][347][348][349][350]. Among those applications, the prediction of the SSC parameter in apples has been particularly frequently studied using those instruments [170,171,216,[351][352][353][354][355][356].…”