Topic Review
Extraction Techniques in Sample Preparation
Sample preparation is the most crucial step in the analytical procedure designed for implementation in any analytical application (food analysis, bionalysis, forensics, toxicology, environmental monitoring etc). It is the limiting factor in chemical analysis since it is time consuming and it can potentially introduce errors. No one can doubt that the best approach would be the direct introduction of the sample to the instrument, however this is rarely feasible. Efficient sample pretreatment is inevitably required as the instrument technology has produced highly sophisticated and sensitive analytical equipment. Hence, the analytical scientists have to develop and apply a suitable sample preparation protocol that ensures that the composition of the sample remains unchanged, no impurities are introduced during handling, all interferences have been left back, the analytes’ concentration is not only at detectable levels, but it can also be quantified precisely and accurately and that the matrix of the sample is compatible with the analytical technique. Extraction techniques are the most powerful tool in hands of the analytical chemists and lab practitioners. Either sorbent based or solvent based, extraction techniques provide the necessary tool that can be used to handle the sample in a way that all information in it can be revealed, all advantages in instrumentation have been exploited to the fullest and the lifetime of the instrument is prolonged in a seamless operation mode.
  • 13.5K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Food Colorants Analysis in Foods
Color additives are used extensively in several food products, as to enhance their appearance, and their nutritional properties. They can be defined as “any substance that its intentional addition of which to a food aiming for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result, in it or its by-products becoming a component of the food or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods”. Thus, hereby they are presented all the late advancements related to existing analytical methods and sample preparation methodologies, for their determination and quantification in food matrices.Furthermore, all these advancements are connected to general information about the existing natural or synthetic food colorants, along with legislative information and toxicological aspects, in order to support the importance and the need of appropriate analytical methodologies.
  • 10.2K
  • 12 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Inelastic Neutron Scattering
Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) is a spectroscopy based on the energy analysis of neutrons after they have been scattered by a sample. A detected energy transfer can be related to a physical interaction of the corresponding atoms with their environment. An energy transfer of several meVs typically arises from vibrations of atoms. Thus, INS provides an amplitude-of-motion and neutron incoherent cross section weighted phonon density of states.  Given the much higher incoherent scattering cross section of hydrogen relative to that of all other elements, INS is particular sensitive to hydrogen based vibrations. The method is widely used in condensed matter physics and solid state chemistry, because the vibrational properties of matter define various physical properties such as the heat capacity. If used as a fingerprint method, INS can be used to characterize chemical bonds both in the bulk as well as on the surface.
  • 7.0K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Volatiles in Food Products
The evaluation of volatiles in food is an important aspect of food production. It gives knowledge about the quality of foods and their relationship to consumers’ choices. Alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters, terpenes, pyrazines, and furans are the main chemical groups that are involved in aroma formation. They are products of food processing: thermal treatment, fermentation, storage, etc. Food aroma is a mixture of varied molecules. Because of this, the analysis of aroma composition can be challenging. 
  • 5.4K
  • 27 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Laser Absorption Spectroscopy
Laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) is an absorption spectroscopic method that employs a laser as the light source and measures the chemical concentration based on detection of a variation of laser beam intensity after transmission along the optical path. 
  • 5.2K
  • 10 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Colorimetric Sensors
Colorimetric analysis has become of great importance in recent years to improve the operationalization of plasmonic-based biosensors. The unique properties of nanomaterials have enabled the development of a variety of plasmonics applications on the basis of the colorimetric sensing provided by metal nanoparticles. In particular, the extinction of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the visible range has permitted the exploitation of LSPR colorimetric-based biosensors as powerful tools for clinical diagnostics and drug monitoring. This review summarizes recent progress in the biochemical monitoring of clinical biomarkers by ultrasensitive plasmonic colorimetric strategies according to the distance- or the morphology/size-dependent sensing modes. Colorimetric analysis has become of great importance in recent years to improve the operationalization of plasmonic-based biosensors. The unique properties of nanomaterials have enabled the development of a variety of plasmonics applications on the basis of the colorimetric sensing provided by metal nanoparticles. In particular, the extinction of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the visible range has permitted the exploitation of LSPR colorimetric-based biosensors as powerful tools for clinical diagnostics and drug monitoring. This review summarizes recent progress in the biochemical monitoring of clinical biomarkers by ultrasensitive plasmonic colorimetric strategies according to the distance- or the morphology/size-dependent sensing modes. 
  • 4.9K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Types of Electrochemical Sensors
The world of sensors is diverse and is advancing at a rapid pace due to the fact of its high demand and constant technological improvements. Electrochemical sensors provide a low-cost and convenient solution for the detection of variable analytes and are widely utilized in agriculture, food, and oil industries as well as in environmental and biomedical applications. The popularity of electrochemical sensing stems from two main advantages: the variability of the reporting signals, such as the voltage, current, overall power output, or electrochemical impedance, and the low theoretical detection limits that originate from the differences in the Faradaic and nonFaradaic currents.
  • 4.9K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Keto–Enol Tautomerism
In organic chemistry, keto–enol tautomerism refers to a chemical equilibrium between a keto form (a ketone or an aldehyde) and an enol (an alcohol). The keto and enol forms are said to be tautomers of each other. The interconversion of the two forms involves the movement of an alpha hydrogen atom and the reorganisation of bonding electrons; hence, the isomerism qualifies as tautomerism. A compound containing a carbonyl group (C=O) is normally in rapid equilibrium with an enol tautomer, which contains a pair of doubly bonded carbon atoms adjacent to a hydroxyl (−OH) group, C=C-OH. The keto form predominates at equilibrium for most ketones. Nonetheless, the enol form is important for some reactions. The deprotonated intermediate in the interconversion of the two forms, referred to as an enolate anion, is important in carbonyl chemistry, in large part because it is a strong nucleophile. Normally, the keto–enol tautomerization chemical equilibrium is highly thermodynamically driven, and at room temperature the equilibrium heavily favors the formation of the keto form. A classic example for favoring the keto form can be seen in the equilibrium between vinyl alcohol and acetaldehyde (K = [enol]/[keto] ≈ 3 × 10−7). However, it is reported that in the case of vinyl alcohol, formation of a stabilized enol form can be accomplished by controlling the water concentration in the system and utilizing the kinetic favorability of the deuterium-produced kinetic isotope effect (kH+/kD+ = 4.75, kH2O/kD2O = 12). Deuterium stabilization can be accomplished through hydrolysis of a ketene precursor in the presence of a slight stoichiometric excess of heavy water (D2O). Studies show that the tautomerization process is significantly inhibited at ambient temperatures ( kt ≈ 10−6 M/s), and the half-life of the enol form can easily be increased to t1/2 = 42 minutes for first-order hydrolysis kinetics. Another exception is the 1,3-diketones, such as acetylacetone (2,4-pentanedione), which favor the enol form.
  • 3.2K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Liquid Crystals-Based Sensors
Liquid crystals are a class of chemical substances that exist in intermediate states between crystalline solids and liquids. They thus share the anisotropic properties of crystalline solids as well as fluid properties of isotropic liquids. 
  • 3.1K
  • 23 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Deep Eutectic Solvents
Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), were introduced in 2001 as an alternative to ILs. These showed a stronger ecofriendly profile, with easier and cheaper production, while having similar properties. DESs contain large, asymmetrical ions that have low lattice energy and, thus, low melting points. They are often acquired by the complexation of a quaternary ammonium salt with a metal salt or hydrogen bond donor (HBD). The charge delocalization occurring through hydrogen bonding between, for instance a halide ion and the hydrogen-donor moiety, is responsible for the decrease in the melting point of the mixture, in relation to the melting points of the individual components. Since 2001, many scientists around the globe pursed the utilization of DESs and published a variety of studies. The use of DESs in analytical microextraction techniques is on the rise, due to the many benefits they provide, such as lower cost and easier synthesis than ILs and an environmentally friendly profile, because of the low toxicity reported, although they need further investigation. To this day, the number of HBAs and HBDs is quite limited, so more studies ought to be carried out to present a plethora of DESs available for use. Moreover, DESs are not commercially available yet, substantially affecting and further limiting their usage for routine analyses in industrial or certified laboratories. The extraordinary high relative recoveries, selectivity, low LODs and decent repeatability they offer, render them appropriate for the determination and quantification of lots of compounds in either simple or complex matrices. As seen, most applications regard liquid phase microextractions rather than solid phase microextractions, because of their liquid nature, as it is simpler to use them as supporting solid adsorbents. The fact that the sample preparation of complicated matrices is of high interest makes them ideal for the research. Hopefully, DESs will be available for purchase in the foreseeable future and will replace organic solvents in some analytical methods commonly used nowadays, while more studies are carried out about their properties. Our aim in this review will be towards the use of DESs in analytical extraction and microextraction techniques, while briefly presenting some frequently used DESs, their synthesis methods and their properties. The ever-increasing use of deep eutectic solvents (DES) in microextraction techniques will be discussed, focusing on the reasons needed to replace conventional extraction techniques with greener approaches that follow the principles of green analytical chemistry.
  • 2.9K
  • 10 Feb 2021
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