Portable NIR spectroscopy: the route to green analytical chemistry

There is a growing interest for cost-effective and nondestructive analytical techniques in both research and application fields. The growing approach by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRs) pushes to develop handheld devices devoted to be easily applied for in situ determinations. Consequently, portable NIR spectrometers actually result definitively recognized as powerful instruments, able to perform nondestructive, online, or in situ analyses, and useful tools characterized by increasingly smaller size, lower cost, higher robustness, easy-to-use by operator, portable and with ergonomic profile. Chemometrics play a fundamental role to obtain useful and meaningful results from NIR spectra. In this review, portable NIRs applications, published in the period 2019-2022, have been selected to indicate starting references. These publications have been chosen among the many examples of the most recent applications to demonstrate the potential of this analytical approach which, not having the need for extraction processes or any other pre-treatment of the sample under examination, can be considered the "true green analytical chemistry" which allows the analysis where the sample to be characterized is located. In the case of industrial processes or plant or animal samples, it is even possible to follow the variation or evolution of fundamental parameters over time. Publications of specific applications in this field continuously appear in the literature, often in unfamiliar journal or in dedicated special issues. This review aims to give starting references, sometimes not easy to be found.

Portable near-infrared and Raman spectroscopic devices as complementary tools for instantaneous quality control of turmeric powder

INTRODUCTION

Process analytical technology (PAT) guidance is implemented in the quality assurance of phytocompounds to achieve the Industry 4.0 concept. Near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopies are feasible for rapid, reliable quantitative analysis through transparent packaging without removing the samples from their original containers. These instruments can serve PAT guidance.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop online portable NIR and Raman spectroscopic methods for quantifying total curcuminoids in turmeric samples through a plastic bag. The method mimicked an in-line measurement mode in PAT compared with placing samples into a glass vessel (at-line mode).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty-three curcuminoid standard-spiked samples were prepared. Then, 15 samples were randomly selected as fixed validation samples, and 40 of the 48 remaining samples were chosen as calibration set. The results obtained from the partial least square regression (PLSR) models constructed by using the spectra acquired from NIR and Raman were compared with the reference values from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

RESULTS

The optimum PLSR model of at-line Raman was achieved with three latent variables and a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.46. Meanwhile, the PLSR model of at-line NIR with one latent variable offered an RMSEP of 0.43. For the in-line mode, PLSR models created from Raman and NIR spectra had one latent variable with RMSEP of 0.49 and 0.42, respectively. The R² values for prediction were 0.88-0.92.

CONCLUSION

The models established from the spectra from portable NIR and Raman spectroscopic devices with the appropriate spectral pretreatments allowed the determination of total curcuminoid contents through plastic bag.

Testing the Limits of a Portable NIR Spectrometer: Content Uniformity of Complex Powder Mixtures Followed by Calibration Transfer for In-Line Blend Monitoring

(1) Background: Portable NIR spectrometers gain more and more ground in the field of Process Analytical Technology due to the easy on-site flexibility and interfacing versatility. These advantages that originate from the instrument miniaturization, also come with a downside with respect to performance compared to benchtop devices. The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of MicroNIR in a pharmaceutical powder blend application, having three active ingredients and 5 excipients. (2) Methods: Spectral data was recorded in reflectance mode using static and dynamic acquisition, on calibration set samples developed using an experimental design. (3) Results: The developed method accurately predicted the content uniformity of these complex mixtures, moreover it was validated in the entire calibration range using ±10% acceptance limits. With respect to at-line prediction, the method presented lower performance compared to a previously studied benchtop spectrometer. Regarding the in-line monitoring of the blending process, it was shown that the spectral variability-induced by dynamic acquisition could be efficiently managed using spectral pre-processing. (4) Conclusions: The in-line process monitoring resulted in accurate concentration profiles, highlighting differences in the mixing behaviour of the investigated ingredients. For the low dose component homogeneity was not reached due to an inefficient dispersive mixing.

Cotton Micronaire Measurements Using Small Portable Near-Infrared (NIR) Analyzers

A key quality and processing parameter for cotton fiber is micronaire, which is a function of the fiber's maturity and fineness. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has previously shown the ability to measure micronaire, primarily in the laboratory and using large, research-grade laboratory NIR instrumentation. International interest has been expressed by the industry in the measurement of fiber micronaire using small, portable NIR spectroscopy instruments for both laboratory and outside the laboratory (e.g., field or greenhouse) locations. New, very small NIR micro-spectrometers have been commercialized that offer the potential advantages of smaller size and lower weight, lower cost, and increased portability over current portable units. A program was implemented to determine the feasibility of a small NIR micro-spectrometer to measure fiber micronaire both in the laboratory and outside the laboratory, with initial emphasis on laboratory measurements prior to moving to field evaluations. In the laboratory, distinct spectral differences with increasing micronaire were observed. Optimal sampling and instrumental procedures and protocols for two units (different spectral wavelength capabilities) were established. Comparative evaluations established very good method micronaire agreement between the micro-spectrometer and a standard portable spectrometer, with high Regression (R) value, low residuals, and few outliers (less than 20%). The NIR micro-spectrometer measurements were fast (<1 min per sample), required no sample preparation, and were easy to perform. All end-state criteria were exceeded. The rapid and accurate laboratory measurement of fiber micronaire with a NIR micro-spectrometer was demonstrated.