Milk's inorganic content analysis via laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy
• Food Science

Background:

• Accurate determination of inorganic content in milk is crucial for nutritional and quality assessments.
• Traditional methods for elemental analysis can be time-consuming and require sample preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the inorganic composition of diverse milk samples using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS).
• To determine optimal experimental conditions for LIBS analysis of low-concentration inorganic elements in milk.
• To validate LIBS results against established analytical techniques.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of milk samples (liquid, lyophilized, ashed) from different animal origins.
• Application of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) with infrared (1064 nm) and visible (532 nm) laser excitation.
• Identification of spectral features for major (Ca, Na, Mg, K) and minor (P, Zn, Cu, Si) minerals.
• Comparison of LIBS data with Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) measurements.

Main Results:

• Successful detection and identification of major and minor inorganic elements in milk samples.
• Optimization of LIBS parameters for sensitive elemental analysis.
• High correlation between LIBS results and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) measurements.
• Demonstration of LIBS capability for analyzing milk in various physical states.

Conclusions:

• Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a viable technique for rapid, in-situ qualitative analysis of inorganic content in milk.
• LIBS offers a promising alternative to conventional methods for milk elemental profiling.
• The study confirms the potential of LIBS for diverse applications in food analysis and quality control.