Opto-Electronic Nose Coupled to a Silicon Micro Pre-Concentrator Device for Selective Sensing of Flavored Waters

Sami Slimani,Thomas Cubizolle,Tristan Rousselle,Cyril Herrier,Etienne Bultel,Thierry Livache

doi:10.3390/chemosensors8030060

Abstract

Headspace analysis of highly humid samples remains a challenge for artificial olfaction. Based on surface plasmon resonance imaging and bio-based sensors, the NeOse Pro olfactive analyzer yields multivariate data and enhances the statistical discrimination capacity of odor patterns. However, the presence of a high background signal, such as water vapor from aqueous samples, may deteriorate its discriminant ability. Recently, miniaturized pre-concentrators packed with hydrophobic adsorbent have been developed to improve the detection limit of gas analysis methods and to enhance their selectivity by reducing the water’s background signal. This work presents, for the first time, the coupling of a miniaturized silicon micro pre-concentration unit (µPC) to a bio-based opto-electronic nose (NeOse Pro). The results showed that the coupling of a silicon µPC with the NeOse Pro led to an improvement in the detection limit of n-nonane by at least a factor of 125. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) of eight different flavored waters showed an enhanced discrimination ability of the coupled set-up in highly humid conditions.

Highlights

Designed to mimic the human olfactory sense, electronic noses are promising tools for the fast, reliable, and objective sensory evaluation of volatile aromas
Based on different sensor technologies, they offer an alternative approach to the use of human sensory panels and standard gas analytical techniques, which are bulky, expensive, and require expertise and maintenance e.g. Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrosopy (GC-MS), Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) [1]
Real challenges still persist, such as poor detection limits, generally around the ppm level, the poor reproducibility of results since responses are influenced by environmental conditions, and sensitivity to water vapor, which is a major drawback for selectivity performance in analyzing humid samples [12,13,14,15,16]

Summary

Introduction

Designed to mimic the human olfactory sense, electronic noses are promising tools for the fast, reliable, and objective sensory evaluation of volatile aromas. Artificial olfaction techniques have the potential to become benchmark technologies in the food industry for food safety, quality control, food design, and manufacturing [6,7,8,9,10,11]. Despite their intrinsic qualities, e-noses still suffer from limitations that keep their usage on a R&D level. Over the last few years, the development of new sensors to overcome these limitations have included sensors

Methods

Results

Conclusion