National Research And Development Institute For Cryogenic And Isotopic Technologies

Group 1 – Quality of Life and Food Authentication

ISSN : 2668-957X
ISSN-L : 2668-957X

Quality of Life and Food Authentication – Advanced Analytical Investigations

Group coordinator: Dr. Eng. Roxana Elena Ionete

STABLE ISOTOPE LABORATORY

Contact Person: Dr. Phys. Diana Costinel
E-mail: diana.costinel@icsi.ro

Stable Isotope Laboratory: designed for the predominant study of isotopic exchange processes in the relations between abiotic factors and living systems, with direct applications in environmental science, health and agriculture/food safety and security.

The research activity within this laboratory is oriented towards the development of innovative and reliable methods that support solving certain issues of global interest, such as:

  • investigation of isotopic processes and hydrological phenomena related to the determination of water origin, the influence of environmental factors on springs or supplying mechanisms in order to manage water resources efficiently;
  • implementation of innovative analysis methods specific to the authentication of complex food matrices (eg wine, other low alcoholic beverages, distillates, fruits, vegetables and derived products, honey, vegetable oils, etc.) for the purpose of (i) global or specific fingerprinting per compund, (ii) certification of geographical or variety origin, harvesting year, (iii) characterization of the compositional profile of natural products based on biologically active principles considered as quality biomarkers, (iv) authentication of declarations for high quality products or organic products;
  • determining the compositional profile of foods for the purpose of their certification and detection of atypical components in certain products;
  • investigation of isotopic fractionation processes in plants grown in different ecosystems or in controlled regime, with different additions.

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Continuous Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer Delta V Plus, with GasBench II equilibration module
Continuous Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer Delta V Plus, with two elemental analyzers: EA Flash HT 1112 and EA Flash HT 2000
Continuous Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer Delta V Plus, coupled with Gas Chromatograph (GC)
SNIF-NMR (Site-Specific Natural Isotope Fractionation – Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrometer
Picarro L2130-i Isotopic Water Analyser
Analytical system for preparation of organic samples

LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY LABORATORY - INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES

Contact person: Dr. Chem. Irina Geana
E-mail: irina.geana@icsi.ro

Liquid Chromatography Laboratory – Investigation of Organic Compounds in Food and Environmental Samples: designed for advanced analytical investigation of organic compounds from various complex matrices (food and environmental), in order to evaluate quality and authenticity parameters and to capitalize some of the by-products of the food industry based on the analytical certification of valuable components.

The primary laboratory expertise is in the use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry for the analysis of organic compounds from various matrices (eg wine, fruit, fruit juice, honey and other bee products, plants and other vegetal products, water, etc.), the main directions of activity being focused on:

  • identification and quantification of biologically active principles (phenolic compounds, organic acids, amino acids, terpenes), sugars in complex matrices (eg wine, honey, fruits, plants, natural extracts, organic products, functional foods);
  • assessing the antioxidant capacity of bioactive compounds from plant sources and food products;
  • identification and quantification of contaminants (mycotoxins – ochratoxin A, patulin, pesticides, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural) from various food matrices;
  • identification and quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from drinking water, wastewater and other environmental samples.

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph, Dionex UltiMate 3000 UHPLC with DAD Detection, coupled with Mass Spectrometer, Q Exact Focus
High Performance Liquid Chromatograph, HPLC Surveyor Plus
UV/VIS Spectrophotometer - Double beam spectrophotometer with variable spectral resolution, double monochromator and cooled double detection, Specord 250 Plus
Antioxidant Capacity: PHOTOCHEM
Potentiostat - Galvanostat, with two BA modules and an ECD module
Soxhlet extractor

GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY LABORATORY - INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIC/ INORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES

Contact person: Dr. Eng. Diana Stegăruş
E-mail: diana.stegarus@icsi.ro

 

Gas Chromatography Laboratory – Investigation of Organic/Inorganic Compounds in Food and Environmental Samples: mainly focused on the gas chromatography technique, for the assessment of the compositional profile, screening and quantification of contaminants (eg volatile organic compounds – VOC), benzene and its derivatives, phthalates, pesticides, dioxins and furans) in environmental and food/beverage samples, including the determination of aromatic compounds in wines and distilled products, the activity of the laboratory aims at investigating organic components in order to study the many processes in the field of environment, agriculture and food security.

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Gas Chromatograph (Varian 450- GC) coupled with Mass Spectrometer (Varian 240-MS)
Gas Chromatography with Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD)
Gas Chromatograph with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID)

METAL ISOTOPE LABORATORY

Contact person: Dr. Phys. Andreea Maria Iordache
E-mail: andreea.iordache@icsi.ro

Metal Isotope Laboratory: designed to develop, validate and implement advanced, rapid and sensitive analytical methods for determining metal compounds in environmental samples (soil, vegetation, water), food (oils, spices, milk, fruits, vegetables, meat) and various materials to assess the level of contamination, safety and/or conformity of product quality.

We develop investigation methods based on stable isotopes of Li, B and Sr as potential environmental tracers for various applications – process investigations, determining source of pollution or geographic origin.

For the detection and quantification of metals at trace level, we use the technique of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) which can provide a profile of the elements in the analysed samples and additionally atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) for sequential analysis of micro-/macro-elements and heavy metals in total forms of liquid and solid samples (eg powders, granules and fibers).

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer – ICP-MS
High Resolution Continuum Source Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
Microwave Digestion System for Liquid and Solid Sample Preparation

BIOSCIENCE LABORATORY

Persoană de contact: dr. biol. Radu Tamaian
e-mail: radu.tamaian@icsi.ro

Bioscience Laboratory: focused mainly on research and development for health. By its nature, the laboratory’s work is collaborative, namely – using computational and laboratory techniques, as well as the know-how from various research projects, we approach topics related to:

  • rational design of small bioactive molecules and controlled release delivery systems for innovative therapeutic agents and food products;
  • the nutrigenomic effects of plant origin bioactive compounds.

The main research equipment/software within the laboratory is:

MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometer
Bioreactor
PyRx (Python Prescription – Virtual Screening Tool) with Autodock Vina for molecular docking

HEAVY WATER LABORATORY

Contact Person: Dr. Phys. Andreea Maria Iordache
E-mail: andreea.iordache@icsi.ro

 

Heavy Water Laboratory: specialized in measuring deuterium concentration in heavy water samples and certification/recertification of heavy water standards (D2O).

The main investigations refer to:

  • determination of the isotopic title of the deuterium content in the concentration range 99,000-99,961% D2O mass using Fourier Transform – Infrared Spectroscopy;
  • determination of the isotopic title of the deuterium content in the concentration range 1,000-99,000% D2O mass using vibrational densimetry.

The main research equipment within the laboratory is:

Fourier Transform - Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometer
Vibrating Densitometer

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Schimba setari

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Continuous Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer Delta V Plus, with GasBench II equilibration module

It is used to determine the 2H/1H and 18O/16O isotopic ratios from water from different sources (e.g. tap water, spring water, precipitation, depleted water, water samples extracted from different matrixes: juice, wine, other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, fruits, vegetables, etc.).

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Continuous Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer Delta V Plus, with two elemental analyzers: EA Flash HT 1112 and EA Flash HT 2000

Used to determine: the 13C/12C and 15N/ 14N isotope ratios by combustion and the 2H/1H and 18O/16O isotopic ratios by pyrolysis from inorganic and organic samples (e.g. honey, vinegar, alcohol extracted from: juice, wine, other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, fruits, vegetables, etc.).

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Continuous Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer Delta V Plus, coupled with Gas Chromatograph (GC)

It allows the determination of the specific 13C/12C isotopic ratio of some organic compounds from liquid and solid samples.

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SNIF-NMR (Site-Specific Natural Isotope Fractionation – Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrometer

It is used for evaluating the non-specific or specific compositional profile on compounds or classes of compounds, with the identification of atypical components, in order to characterize and/or authenticate certain food products (eg wine, fruit and derivatives, honey, oil). Its SNIF (Site-Specific Natural Isotope Fractionation) -RMN configuration allows the determination of the intramolecular distribution of deuterium in the studied molecule (eg ethanol, acetic acid, benzaldehyde, etc.). The determined isotopic parameters provide information on the origin of the chemical compound (synthesized compound or natural compound), some of the most important applications being in the confirmation of the authenticity of the food (botanical origin, geographical origin, harvest year) and the characterization by means of isotopes of metabolic or synthesis processes.

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Picarro L2130-i Isotopic Water Analyser

The Picarro L2130-i is ideal for isotopic analysis of clean waters and water vapor. It performs highly precise measurements of δ18O (guaranteed at 0.025‰) and δD (guaranteed at 0.1‰) with minimal drift.

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Analytical system for preparation of organic samples

It is used for the preparation (eg distillation, lyophilization, protein extraction, acetic acid extraction) and primary characterization of organic samples (eg beverages, fruits and vegetables, honey, plants/leaves), for subsequent isotopic fingerprinting.

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Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph, Dionex UltiMate 3000 UHPLC with DAD Detection, coupled with Mass Spectrometer, Q Exact Focus

The UHPLC system has the ability to separate the very low volatility compounds present in different matrices with the aim to identify and quantify the individual components of the mixture. Additionally, due to its sensitivity, selectivity and flexibility, Q Exact Focus allows the screening, quantification, identification and confirmation of the known compounds as well as unknown compounds from complex mixtures. The main applications are specific to food safety, namely identification and quantification of biologically active principles (phenolic compounds, organic acids, amino acids, terpenes), contaminants (mycotoxins, pesticides) from different food matrices (wine, honey, fruit, plants, functional food), with the possibility of expanding to clinical research, forensic toxicology, pharmaceuticals and the environment.

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High Performance Liquid Chromatograph, HPLC Surveyor Plus

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) has the ability to separate compounds with very low volatility that are present in different matrices. It is used to identify and quantify biologically active principles (phenolic compounds, organic acids, amino acids, sugars, terpenes) and contaminants (mycotoxins, pesticides) from different food matrices (wine, honey, fruits, plants, organic products, functional foods), including the identification and quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and environmental samples. Because of this versatility, HPLC has contributed to analytical solutions in diverse fields such life sciences, foods, environment, etc.

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UV/VIS Spectrophotometer - Double beam spectrophotometer with variable spectral resolution, double monochromator and cooled double detection, Specord 250 Plus

It is intended for measuring the absorbance of liquid samples, in the spectral range 190-1100 nm. It is used to determine the total content of polyphenols (Folin Ciocalteau method), total flavonoids and antioxidant activity in different food matrices: wines, fruits, honey, slope extracts.

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Antioxidant Capacity: PHOTOCHEM

PHOTOCHEM offers the first system solution for the quantitation of antioxidants in water-soluble and lipid-soluble systems. Due to the use of the method of photochemiluminescence, the fast photochemical excitation of radical formation is combined with sensitive luminometric detection. It can be used for quality control of technological processes, determination of the long-term stability of products, screening of new antioxidative substances in different areas like nutrition and food technology, chemical industry, agriculture and forestry, cosmetics, medicine, pharmacy.

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Potentiostat - Galvanostat, with two BA modules and an ECD module

The equipment allows investigation of electrodeposition, electro dissolution, but also passivity and corrosion studies, ion diffusion through membranes, study of semiconductor biosensors and interfaces, characterization of coatings and corrosion phenomena. It is used for developing/testing sensors and biosensors applied to investigate different classes of compounds in food matrices.

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Soxhlet extractor

Equipment used for the solvent extraction of active principles from various solid food matrices (dehydrated fruits, dried plants) as a preparatory step, before analytical determinations. It can also be used for solvent extraction of solid samples (soil, vegetation) in order to determine environmental contaminants.

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Gas Chromatograph (Varian 450- GC) coupled with Mass Spectrometer (Varian 240-MS)

It is used for screening and quantification of contaminants (e.g. volatile organic compounds (VOCs), benzene and its derivatives, chloroform, phthalates) in environmental and food/beverage samples. It is also used in assessing aromatic compounds in wine and distillates.

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Gas Chromatography with Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD)

Used to determine contaminants in environment and food/beverage samples. Specific applications: organochlorine-pesticides in water and wine, THMs and chlorobenzene in water.

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Gas Chromatograph with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID)

It is used for the determination of environmental contaminants and food/beverage samples. Specific applications: determination and quantification of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol from beverages, methanol and volatile organic compounds from various matrices (eg fruits, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, syrups, etc.), phthalates from water samples and beverages.

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Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer – ICP-MS

ICP-MS provides a number of attractive properties as a detector for quantitative analysis, such as high sensitivity (ng L-1 range), wide linear dynamic detection range (up to nine orders of magnitude depending on the instrument and the application), and specificity for the accurate detection and quantification of metals, metalloids, and heteroelements (including non-metals, semi-metals, and halogens). In addition, can be used to obtain precise isotope ratio information for those elements that feature multiple stable isotopes.

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High Resolution Continuum Source Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

It is used for the determination of micro-/macro-elements and heavy metals in total forms in liquid and solid samples on food and environmental matrices.

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Microwave Digestion System for Liquid and Solid Sample Preparation

Preparation of liquid and solid samples by iwave microwave digestion for quantitative multi-elemental analysis.

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MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometer

It is used to identify bacterial species, filamentous fungi and yeasts based on protein profile. The peptide fragments are arranged based on the molecular mass in a spectrum that allows to obtain an individual protein imprint - specific to a particular species of microorganism.

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Bioreactor

It offers a wide range of possible biotechnological applications, including complex studies to maximize the biodegradation capacity of complex substrates (eg food by-products, wastewater, sludge, organic pollutants), coupled with biofuel/bioenergy production.

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PyRx (Python Prescription – Virtual Screening Tool) with Autodock Vina for molecular docking

We use PyRx (Python Prescription - Virtual Screening Tool) with AutoDock Vina for virtual screening (docking) of large combinatorial library to predict the binding affinity and the binding orientation of small molecule drug candidates to their biological targets. Docking simulates in silico the interactions between small compounds and protein’s active site and the results are comparable to those of biochemical assays – but faster and less expensive.

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Fourier Transform - Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometer

Fourier Transform - Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) offers quantitative and qualitative analysis for organic and inorganic samples. FT-IR identifies chemical bonds in a molecule by producing an infrared absorption spectrum. The spectra produce a profile of the sample, a distinctive molecular fingerprint that can be used to screen and scan samples for many different components. We are performing routine analysis for certification of heavy water standards (in the range of 1-99% D2O and 99-99.975% D2O).

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Vibrating Densitometer 

It is used to determine the isotopic title of the deuterium content in the concentration range 1,000-99,000% D2O mass.