Researcher(s)
- Levi Bielewicz, Chemistry, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Jocelyn Alcántara-García, Chemistry & Art Conservation, University of Delaware
Abstract
Accurately tracking freshness and quality of edible oils is key for industrial and commercial success as well as food safety. But quality control relies on destructive sampling, often accompanied by time-consuming analyses. This work investigates the use of portable, single sided nuclear magnetic resonance as a nondestructive alternative. The mobile universal surface explorer (MOUSE) helped to track oil freshness, by measuring the longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation times through the bottle.
The MOUSE was able to differentiate across some of the most common edible oils (e.g., avocado, corn, olive, etc.), as well as some brands of commercial olive oils, by showing their characteristic relaxation times. Since measurements can be done in situ and within sealed bottles, this methodology can potentially save time and reduce cost. Being a portable technique, testing can happen in warehouses and producers can potentially streamline their quality control.
Ongoing research focuses on olive oil, as it is heavily regulated under established parameters. A high-end product is significantly more expensive, and a spoiled batch can have drastic consequences, especially for smaller producers. Preliminary results indicate that the MOUSE is able to differentiate between fresh and artificially aged (to expiration) samples of the same olive oil, with future work hoping to quantify this change.
Our results demonstrate that NMR-MOUSE relaxation measurements provide a sensitive, accurate, portable, and non-destructive tool for oil classification with broad applications in analytical chemistry and food science.