Glass authentication: Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for origin discrimination of glass bottles.

Counterfeiting is an omnipresent issue, among others in the cosmetics industry or on the art market. Particularly in the case of very expensive perfumes or very valuable art objects, counterfeits are strongly represented and are steadily increasing. Typically, the content of perfumes is analyzed, but the bottle offers another level of authentication, as it is an essential part of the product.

Origin Determination of Walnuts ( L.) on a Worldwide and Regional Level by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics.

To counteract food fraud, this study aimed at the differentiation of walnuts on a global and regional level using an isotopolomics approach. Thus, the multi-elemental profiles of 237 walnut samples from ten countries and three years of harvest were analyzed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the resulting element profiles were evaluated with chemometrics. Using support vector machine (SVM) for classification, validated by stratified nested cross validation, a prediction accuracy of 73% could be achieved.

Food Authentication: Truffle ( spp.) Species Differentiation by FT-NIR and Chemometrics.

Truffles are certainly the most expensive mushrooms; the price depends primarily on the species and secondly on the origin. Because of the price differences for the truffle species, food fraud is likely to occur, and the visual differentiation is difficult within the group of white and within the group of black truffles. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a reliable method for the authentication of five commercially relevant truffle species via Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy as an easy to handle approach combined with chemometrics.

Food Authentication: Species and Origin Determination of Truffles ( spp.) by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics.

The aim of this study was to develop a protocol for the authentication of truffles using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The price of the different truffle species varies significantly, and because the visual differentiation is difficult within the white truffles and within the black truffles, food fraud is likely to occur. Thus, in the context of this work, the elemental profiles of 59 truffle samples of five commercially relevant species were analyzed and the resulting element profiles were evaluated with chemometrics.

Food Targeting: Determination of the Cocoa Shell Content ( L.) in Cocoa Products by LC-QqQ-MS/MS.

A targeted metabolomics LC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS application for the determination of cocoa shell based on 15 non-polar key metabolites was developed, validated according to recognized guidelines, and used to predict the cocoa shell content in various cocoa products. For the cocoa shell prediction, different PLSR models based on different cocoa shell calibration series were developed and their suitability and prediction quality were compared. By analysing samples from different origins and harvest years with known shell content, the prediction model could be confirmed.

Nonradioactive Cell Assay for the Evaluation of Modular Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Targeting Ligands via Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry.

The development of novel prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioactive theranostic agents is currently limited to facilities capable of working with high-energy radioisotopes. Even preselection of lead structures in vitro relies mostly on radioactive assays with PSMA(+) LNCaP and PSMA(-) PC-3 cells. Assays utilizing radioisotopes are time consuming, costly, and limit discovery to a small group of scientists with special facilities.

Food fingerprinting: Mass spectrometric determination of the cocoa shell content (Theobroma cacao L.) in cocoa products by HPLC-QTOF-MS.

The determination of cocoa shell content (Theobroma cacao L.) in cocoa products using a metabolomics approach was accomplished via high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF-MS). The developed method was used to separately analyze the polar and non-polar metabolome of the cocoa testa (cocoa shell) and the cocoa cotyledons (cocoa nibs) of cocoa samples from 15 different geographic origins, harvest years, and varieties in positive and negative ion mode.