Automated solvent-assisted flavor evaporation 2.0 (aSAFE 2.0)

Before using gas chromatography to analyze volatiles in food, beverages, or other materials, it is necessary to carefully separate the volatile fraction from the nonvolatile compounds. Mild approaches that avoid elevated temperatures such as the solvent-assisted flavor evaporation are key to prevent compositional changes associated with compound degradation and artifact formation. This paper introduces a novel system for the automated execution of a solvent-assisted flavor evaporation that combines a newly designed glassware with a novel light-weight valve, a novel modernized controller, and an endpoint detection sensor. In summary, the major advantages of the novel aSAFE 2.0 system for the isolation of volatiles in the lab are:•Representativeness of the volatile isolates: no thermal compound degradation or artifact formation, high yields over a wide range of boiling points•Purity of the volatile isolates: reduced risk of unintended transfers of nonvolatiles•Convenience of handling: easy programming, autonomous execution, automatic shutdown.