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by Neil H. Mermelstein
Researchers at Waters Corp. prepare to insert a vial containing a sample extract into an Acquity UPLC H-Class /Xevo G2 QTof time-of-flight mass spectrometry system prior to running a pesticide screening method.
industry, but it also applies to manufacturers of instruments for the analysis of foods and beverages. Here is a sampling of some of the instruments introduced within the past year or so by three major analytical instrument companies.
Waters Corp.
Based in Milford, Mass., Waters Corp. (www.waters.com) is said to deliver practical and sustainable innovation to enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality
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high-profile food safety scares because of its ability to perform non-targeted analysis. The instrument provides a way to screen food products for any unwanted chemical contaminants. The company has also been working with the fruit juice industry to use the Acquity UPLC H-Class and the Xevo G2 QTof with MarkerLynx software to determine fruit juice adulteration. The challenges that the industry faces today, with trying to predict the next food safety scare and ensure consumer safety, she said, are likely to be present for many years to come, but more tools are now available to address the issues when they arise. Sample preparation used to be a huge bottleneck, she said, but as instruments become more sensitive and as chemists seek to learn more about their products, the trend is to move away from sample prep whenever possible although there will still be methods for which it is an essential part of the analysis. The issue of melamine highlighted to the food industry how a food quality issue can rapidly become a very major food safety issue, Gledhill said. This arose because the commonly used test for protein, the Kjeldahl method, measures nitrogen and not protein and can therefore be cheated by exogenous non-protein nitrogen. This has raised questions about the true efficacy of many of the aged reference methods in use in routine food QC testing today and is creating an interest in adoption of newer, more effective methods such as UPLC and even mass spectrometric methods for food QA/QC analysis. The challenge for instrument manufacturers, she said, is to develop instruments that not only have a small footprintnecessary in the QC environment, where
real estate is preciousbut also are robust enough and easy enough to be used by less-experienced operators in a busy routine environment. The company, she said, continues to invest significant resources in development of analytical solutions specifically aimed at these markets.
The Q Exactive mass spectrometer (above) from Thermo Fisher Scientific provides high-confidence confirmation of known compounds and identification of unknowns. The ToxInsight fluorescence imaging instrument (below) and associated assays from Thermo Fisher Scientific provide a non-targeted screening platform for identifying the presence or absence of endocrine disrupters in the environment, food packaging, food ingredients, and other products.
to produce HRAM MS/MS fragment ion spectra, enables extremely high levels of confirmation, minimizing false negative results. The instrument works with all atmospheric ionization techniques, he said. Screening and quantitation in the food safety area have traditionally been performed by triple-quadrupole mass spectrometers because of their high sensitivity, high speed of analysis, and specificity, Kellmann said, but the focus has always been on targeted analytes. Within this methodology, a limited set of analytes have to be defined before analyses are conducted, all compounds
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The Spectrum Two infrared spectrometer (above) from PerkinElmer is designed for everyday quality and safety analysis in the laboratory or the field. The AxION 2 time-of-flight mass spectrometer (right) from PerkinElmer is designed to deliver rapid and accurate mass identification and quantification of targeted and non-targeted compounds.
have to be optimized separately, and the confidence of confirmation by low-resolution fragment ions is still the cause of divergent discussions. In contrast to this targeted approach, there is more interest lately in non-targeted approaches. Using intact compound molecular ions for quantification and complete fragment spectra for highconfidence confirmation of known compounds or even identification of unknowns, HRAM analysis over a wide mass range by means of the Q Exactive will overcome these
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PerkinElmer Inc.
Based in Waltham, Mass., PerkinElmer Inc. (www.perkinelmer. com) bills itself as a global leader focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment. Ravindra Ramadhar, Director of Food & Consumer Goods Safety, said that the company introduced
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a number of new instruments in 2011 that incorporate industry-leading detection levels, ease of use, lower maintenance requirements, and user-friendly software. The Spectrum Two infrared spectrometer and the AxION 2 TOF-MS platform are instruments that he said will revolutionize the use of analytical instrumentation and help guarantee the safety and quality of foods. Spectrum Two, introduced in February 2011, is designed for everyday quality and safety analysis, such as detection of contamination, economically motivated adulteration, or counterfeiting applications. It provides fast, accurate infrared analysis in a compact, transportable design, suitable for use in the laboratory or the field. While the underlying instrumentation technology is complex, the instrument automates the interpretation of IR spectroscopic results and is easy to use. A user-friendly touch-screen interface allows results to be obtained faster than ever before. The instrument uses a fixedmirror-pair interferometer design that does not requiredynamic alignment to compensate for errors found in linear-mirrormovement systems, Ramadhar said. It is portable and includes a wireless interface, minimizing the possibility the system will be damaged in a harsh environment and making it ideal for use from the loading dock to the lab. Since raw material testing is typically done in an area with little climate control, he said, the effects of temperature and humidity must be considered to allow consistent results. With this in mind, the instrument was designed with a humidity shield to protect it from environmental effects, allowing it to be used in more challenging environments. The AxION 2 platform,
introduced in June 2011, features five orders of linear dynamic range for quantification, high specificity so no extensive chromatographic separation is required, high scanning speed, exact mass capabilities for confident confirmation of compound identity, and isotope-ratio confirmation for further confidence in routine quantitative pesticide analysis, targeted screening of pesticides and other chemicals, and detection and identification of unexpected compounds. The platform includes hardware and software specifically designed to deliver rapid and accurate mass identification and quantification. The hardware consists of the AxION 2 TOF-MS instrument and a choice of ion sources that are said to deliver the most efficient nebulization, fastest desolvation, and most effective ionization of any TOF system, Ramadhar said. The Ultraspray 2 adjustable dual-probe electrospray ionization source allows users to optimize the angle of probes to achieve the best sensitivity. The design also lets users dedicate one inlet to a sample and the other to an internal standard. By doing so, one can avoid contamination in the sample probe and achieve the highest mass accuracywithout affecting sensitivity or resolutionby performing real-time calibrations. The other available ion source is a field-free atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source that maximizes ionization efficiency and sensitivity at very low flow rates, he said, allowing users to achieve optimum results while using less sample and solvent. Each source has interchangeable snap-in probes to enhance productivity and user flexibility by reducing cross-contamination. The platform also includes a variety of software packages for analysis and reporting of results. Food and beverage
customers present a unique challenge to instrument developers, Ramadhar said. On one hand, they need powerful and complex instrumentation and techniques for the required actionable results. But on the other hand, they require instruments that are easy to use and generate clear results. Instrument development must address both these needs, he said. Globalization, changing technical levels, and training of staff are driving instrument robustnessand greater automation of results. To better serve the needs of the food industry, he added, companies must ensure that instruments are designed for the rigors of a food production environment and manage the complex matrices associated with food.Instruments must be designed to operate
in harsh and non-laboratory environments and require less maintenance and calibration. PerkinElmer is always looking into the future to add software functionality and analytical capability that customers demand, Ramadhar said. Ease of use, field deployability, and ability to move the instrument to various locations are always on the development screen. Increased productivity, more-efficient reporting, and integration with other informatics needs in the laboratory are high priorities that the company will continue to develop over the next few years, he said. FT
Neil H. Mermelstein, a Fellow of IFT, is Editor Emeritus of Food Technology nhmermelstein@comcast.net
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