Combining GC-O and MS-Nose Technologies for Successful Aroma/Odor

This SBIR Phase I submission describes the development of instrumentation to combine GC- Olfactometry and MS-Nose functionality into an integrated multi-dimensional GC system. Sophisticated GC-O operation identifies olfactory active components, while an innovative flow switch redirects cuts of the volatiles to a mass spectrometer in batch mode. Discriminate analysis techniques, seeded by knowledge of the ions of interest, provide unambiguous aroma signatures. The combination provides fast method development followed by rapid, accurate, screening procedures. Existing E-Nose and MS-Nose instruments often depend upon the coincidental correlation of major component output signals with aroma profiles. These instruments struggle with detection in the ppm range, whereas most aroma issues are at ppb to ppt levels. Our approach identifies the active olfactory components, determines a limited detection ion set, and performs discriminate analysis of high specificity for the target compounds. When primarily targeted critical correlation ions are monitored, significant sensitivity enhancement over other systems is anticipated. Utilizing a batch in-letting mode, screening times are reduced to minutes. The automated integrated system, with added voice recognition software, will be used to evaluate the authenticity and quality of aromatic Basmati rice. Texas A&M University Food Science Dept. will provide the required sensory panel support data.