Smartphone-based rapid and low-cost method for the determination of eugenol content of clove essential oil

Abstract

The determination of eugenol in clove essential oil was performed using a smartphone-operated device, which was used for image capture and processing. The colorimetric reaction with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent was used, and the lighting conditions were evaluated to capture images directly in 2 mL disposable vessels. The free application PhotoMetrix UVC was used for partial least squares regression calibration with suitable values (R² greater than 0.99). The accuracy of the proposed method was compared with traditional methods, such as gas chromatography (GC) and spectrophotometry, and it can be observed that there were no significant differences (Student’s t-test (P > 0.05), with agreements from 97% to 101%. The smartphone method allowed the evaluation of several samples in a few minutes, with simple analysis steps and easy interpretation of the results. The miniaturized scale allowed the use of small amounts of reagents with minimal waste generation. Therefore, the proposed method can be easily operated in the field and allows the evaluation of the quality of clove essential oil in places of restricted access without the need for a laboratory structure and specialized analysts.