Development of QCM sensor to detect α-terpinyl acetate in cardamom

Abstract

α-terpinyl acetate (aTA) is an organic volatile compound present in cardamom and it majorly makes this spice gracefully flavoured. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor with tailor-made sensitivity provides a wide range of linear responses and is generally used for aroma sensing based on the deviation of the resonant frequency. In this present work, a QCM gas sensor (aTA-MIP-QCM) has been developed by coating the quartz crystal with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) containing polymethacrylic acid (PMAA) to detect α-terpinyl acetate in small cardamom. Extensive experimentation has been carried out for the study of sensitivity, selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility, and stability of the decorated sensor and the results demonstrate that the sensor is exclusively sensitive and selective to aTA. The sensor was exposed to the aroma of cardamom samples and a significant correlation was obtained of the sensor response with the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) estimations.