SPR imaging based electronic tongue via landscape images for complex mixture analysis.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biosensor Technology
• Food Science

Background:

• Electronic noses/tongues (eN/eT) offer advanced analysis for complex mixtures in food and beverage quality control.
• Traditional methods can be time-consuming and may not capture the full complexity of samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel electronic tongue (eT) system for analyzing complex mixtures.
• To assess the eT's capability in differentiating various food and beverage samples.
• To investigate the eT's potential for quality control applications, such as monitoring food deterioration.

Main Methods:

• Development of an eT by integrating surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) with a self-assembled array of cross-reactive receptors.
• Preparation of receptor arrays by mixing two small molecules in controlled proportions on the SPRi prism surface.
• Generation and analysis of 2D continuous evolution profiles (CEPs) and 3D continuous evolution landscapes (CELs).

Main Results:

• The developed eT successfully differentiated complex mixtures including red wine, beer, and milk.
• Novel 2D CEPs and 3D CELs were generated, providing unique analytical fingerprints.
• Preliminary tests demonstrated the eT's ability to monitor the deterioration of UHT milk.
• The eT exhibited good repeatability and stability, functioning after 5 months of storage.

Conclusions:

• The SPRi-based eT is a promising tool for the analysis of complex mixtures in the food and beverage industry.
• The system demonstrates potential for reliable quality control and spoilage monitoring.
• The eT offers a stable, repeatable, and effective alternative to traditional analytical methods.