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Design and Development of Sample Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds

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A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Analysis of Natural Products and Pharmaceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 5372

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rui Miguel Ramos

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Guest Editor

REQUIMTE/LAQV—Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
Interests: volatile organic compounds; liquid chromatography; extraction methodologies; mass spectrometry; miniaturization; wood-based panels analysis; analytical chemistry; sample preparation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Cecilia Cagliero

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Guest Editor

Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: natural compounds; phytochemical analysis; sample preparation; gas chromatography; HPLC; ionic liquids; deep eutectic solvents; chiral analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemical compounds that are gaseous or can vaporize and enter the atmosphere at room temperature. Most VOCs are biogenic (BVOCs) and are naturally emitted by plants, animals, or microorganisms, but many of them have anthropogenic origin. In both cases, their analytical determination is of utmost importance because (i) they can play an important role in communication between animals and plants in plant–plant interactions and (ii) some of them can be dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment and are therefore internationally regulated.

In the past, the sample preparation step has often been considered as of minor importance in the whole analytical process. However, it is fundamental to efficiently and representatively recover the analytes. In recent years, the analytical community has made a great effort in the development of new sample preparation approaches towards liquid and solid samples, aiming to increase the level of miniaturization, automation and sample throughput and to decrease the consumption of materials and organic solvents. Furthermore, special emphasis has been given to improving the environmental footprint of the analytical process.

In this Special Issue, we welcome research articles and reviews dealing with the design and development of innovative sample preparation materials and procedures for the determination of VOCs and BVOCs.

Dr. Rui Miguel Ramos
Dr. Cecilia Cagliero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

volatile organic compounds
sample preparation
green sample preparation
new materials
miniaturization
automation
gas chromatography
liquid chromatography
contaminants

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3077 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Volatile Carbonyl Compounds Emission in Dry-Process Fibreboard: Identification through a Selective GDME-HPLC-DAD-MS/MS Method

by Fátima Daniela Gonçalves, Jorge M. Martins, Luísa H. Carvalho, José António Rodrigues and Rui Miguel Ramos

Separations 2024, 11(4), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11040092 - 25 Mar 2024

Viewed by 746

Abstract

This work presents a novel application of gas-diffusion microextraction (GDME) for the extraction and identification of volatile carbonyl compounds from a dry-process fibreboard (MDF) by combining high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC–DAD) and mass spectrometry (MS). GDME is a simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly technique that allows the simultaneous extraction and derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) of selected volatiles. The extraction conditions were optimized using design of experiments through a 2⁴ full fractional design followed by a Box–Behnken design, resulting in 35 min of extraction at 45 °C using 500 µL of DNPH 0.15%. The analysis of commercial MDF samples with different characteristics, such as thickness or colour, showed a distinct emission profile of volatile carbonyls. The principal emitting compounds found were formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, butanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, octanal, and nonanal. A total of 25 compounds were identified using MS, including saturated and unsaturated aldehydes, ketones, dicarbonyls, and benzaldehyde-derivatives. This method can be a valuable tool for the qualitative evaluation of VOCs released from wood-based panels and for the assessment of indoor-air quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Sample Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds)

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13 pages, 6798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparison of Volatile Organic Compounds in Puerariae Lobatae Radix and Puerariae Thomsonii Radix Using Gas Chromatography–Ion Migration Spectrometry

by Yingchao Mao, Lingfeng Zhu, Fuhua Fu, Lijun Zhu, Jiajing Chen, Jing Liu, Dan Huang and Chang Lei

Separations 2024, 11(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11010031 - 12 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1304

Abstract

Puerariae Radix is one of the most widely used ancient traditional Chinese medicines and is also consumed as food, which has rich edible and medicinal value. Puerariae Radix can be divided into Puerariae Lobatae Radix (PL) and Puerariae Thomsonii Radix (PT). These two medicinal materials are very similar, and they are often mixed up or misused. In this study, gas chromatography–ion migration spectrometry (GC-IMS) was used to analyze the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of PL and PT, and the differences in VOCs were analyzed using fingerprint, principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The results showed that a total of 173 VOCs were obtained from PL and PT, and 149 were qualitatively identified, including 38 aldehydes, 22 alcohols, 22 ketones, 19 esters, 13 esters, 10 acids, 10 pyrazines, 6 terpenes, 4 furans, and 2 pyridines. The characteristic VOCs of PL and PT were clarified by constructing GC-IMS fingerprints. PL and PT can be effectively distinguished, and five characteristic VOCs were screened using PCA and OPLS-DA analysis methods. This study identified and evaluated the types and differences in VOCs in PL and PT. The established method is simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive, and it provides theoretical guidance for the identification, tracing, and quality evaluation of PL and PT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Sample Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds)

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20 pages, 5490 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Development of an Ultrasound-Assisted Emulsification Microextraction Method for the Determination of Volatile Compounds in Wines

by Ioanna Chalvantzi, Aspasia Nisiotou, Georgios Banilas and Athanasios Mallouchos

Separations 2023, 10(10), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100525 - 27 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1161

Abstract

A fast and simple method based on ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction (USAEME) was developed for the analysis of volatile compounds in wines. A full factorial 2⁴ screening design was built to investigate the main factors affecting the extraction of volatile components, namely the volume of extraction solvent, sonication time, salt content, and pH. Then, the factors with significant effects were optimized using an I-optimal design. The optimal value for all the variables studied was reached under the following experimental conditions: volume of extraction solvent 200 μL and salt content 5% m/v. The suitability of the optimized method was evaluated, resulting in very good linearity with coefficients of determination (R²) higher than 0.995 in all cases, while repeatability was lower than 8.4% except for d-limonene and p-cymene. Recoveries higher than 82% were observed for the groups of ethyl esters, acetate esters, alcohols, and terpenoid alcohols (linalool, α-terpineol). The recovery of acids ranged from 70.5% to 88.9%, whereas the three monoterpenes studied (d-limonene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene) were not extracted satisfactorily. The proposed method was effectively applied for the analysis of volatile compounds in laboratory-scale fermentations with selected strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Sample Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds)

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Review

Jump to: Research

34 pages, 1646 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Innovative Solutions for Food Analysis: Microextraction Techniques in Lipid Peroxidation Product Detection

by Jorge A. Custodio-Mendoza, Ana M. Ares-Fuentes and Antonia M. Carro

Separations 2023, 10(10), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations10100531 - 04 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1650

Abstract

Lipid peroxidation, the most aggressive reaction in food, results in the formation of reactive organic compounds that detrimentally impact food sensory qualities and consumers’ health. While controlled lipid peroxidation can enhance flavors and appearance in certain foods, secondary peroxidation products lead to sensory deterioration in a variety of products, such as oils, alcoholic beverages, and meat. This publication reviews the use of modern analytical techniques for detecting and quantifying carbonyl compounds, i.e., secondary lipid peroxidation products. The paper focuses specifically on microextraction-based methods: dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and gas-diffusion microextraction (GDME). These techniques offer efficient and sensitive approaches to extracting and quantifying lipid oxidation products and contribute to the understanding of oxidative deterioration in various food products. The review outlines recent advancements, challenges, and limitations in these microextraction techniques, as well as emphasizes the potential for further innovation and improvement in the field of food analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Development of Sample Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds)

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