Abstract
There is an interest in sensors for the detection of odorant molecules in the gaseous phase, especially those related to the fragrance of fruits, because odorant sensing is useful for on-site quality control of agricultural products. Previously, gas-chromatographic methods requiring bench-top devices were used for odorant-molecule detection. Herein, we report an odorant sensor based on cyclodextrins (CDs) as a stable odorant receptor, using a highly mass-sensitive and quantitative 27-MHz quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) device, which has the advantage of possible incorporation into portable devices. When ethyl butyrate (a model odorant molecule for fruit fragrances) was flowed onto a QCM plate modified with α-, β-, or γ-CD network films, a decrease in frequency was observed (corresponding to an increase in mass), owing to the capture of odorant molecules by CD molecules. The CD films were capable of capturing and releasing odorant molecules, depending on the type of CD (α-, β-, or γ-CD). Thus, these sensors are reusable for odorant-molecule sensing, and are applicable to pattern recognition of odorant molecules. Thus, sensors based on CD films combined with a QCM handheld device could be applied to monitoring the condition of fruits.
Highlights
Chemical sensors and biosensors for the detection of volatile gaseous molecules attract research attention [1,2,3]
To assess the ability of the CD films to detect different odorant molecules, we investigated the response of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) device with each CD film toward limonene, which is a known fragrance compound in citrus fruits, such as lemon and orange
We demonstrated that network films of α, β, or γ-CD with Ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) linkers are capable of sensing odorant molecules, such as ethyl butyrate and limonene in the gaseous phase, using a highly sensitive
Summary
Chemical sensors and biosensors for the detection of volatile gaseous molecules attract research attention [1,2,3]. The detection and quantification of odorant molecules from fruits are useful for quality control in agriculture, due to reports that fragrance intensity may be related to the maturity of fruits [7,8]. As another example, in the food industry, odor evaluation is required for the quality control of processed foods and drinks [2]. Flavoring and aromatic volatile molecules can be quantitatively analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) or using GC coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) [7]
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