Instrumental Analysis

of Food and Drugs

Pre-seminar Material

Dr. Kendrew MAK, Dr. Wing Fat CHAN

The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Curriculum Link
• This seminar builds on knowledge learnt in the DSE curriculum:
• Chemistry Topics V, XI and XV
• Combined Science (Chemistry): Topic V

**The content of this pre-seminar material is based on the context of the

seminar and the curriculum of DSE Chemistry.**
 Peanut Oil
• Peanut oil is essentially fat (fat is in solid form at room temperature,
oil is in liquid form) and all fats have the following general triglyceride
structure.
An example of triglyceride

where R’, R’’ and R’’’ are long hydrocarbon chains

Hydrolysis of Triglycerides

Free fatty acids

(or carboxylic acids)
4 Main Fatty Acids in Peanut Oil
Hexadecanoic acid C15H31COOH Stearic acid C17H35COOH

(Z)-9-Octadecenoic acid (Z,Z)-9,12-Octadecadienoic acid

Fatty Acids Methyl Esters (FAMEs)
• In order to obtain a better signal in the gas chromatograph, free fatty
acids are converted to the corresponding methyl esters (FAMEs).
• FAMEs are synthesized by reacting free fatty acids with methanol in
the presence of BF3.

BF3/CH3OH
RCOOH RCOOCH3
Significance of FAMEs Analysis
• Oils, lipids and fats present in food share the triglyercide structure.
• Accurate determination of the amount of oils, lipids and fats in food
enables nutritional labeling.
Acetaminophen/Paracetamol
• It is a common ingredient in painkillers.
• It also relieves fever effectively.
• It does not treat inflammation.
Aspirin
• It is another common ingredient in painkillers.
• It is also an anti-inflammatory drug.
 Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant to the central nervous system and it can keep people awake.

How does it work?

• Normally, brain creates adenosine and it can bind to adenosine receptor to promote sleep.

• As caffeine is structurally similar to adenosine, it can readily bind to adenosine receptor.

• With the presence of caffeine, adenosine is more difficult to bind to adenosine receptor.
Therefore, taking caffeine containing food keeps us awake.

Adenosine
Caffeine
UV-Visible Spectroscopy
• Most unsaturated (i.e. compounds with multiple carbon-carbon
bonds) organic compounds and molecules with lone electron pairs
will absorb certain wavelength of light in UV-Visible region.
• The measurement of the absorbance (i.e. the % of light absorbed) can
be used to determine the concentrations of molecules.

Ketone Alkene Alkyne Benzene

UV-Vis Spectrum
max = 165 nm
Absorbance

Ethene

100 150 200 250 300

Wavelength (nm)
Beer’s Law
- The concentration of solution is directly proportional to the light
absorbance

A = abc
where:
A = absorbance of UV light measured
a = molar absorptivity
b = path length (width) of the cuvette
c = concentration of the sample Cuvette
(sample container for the spectrometer)
Content of the Seminar
• In this seminar, you will learn about:
• Some chemicals of food oils and drugs
• The instruments used to detect the present of these chemicals:
- Gas Chromatography - Mass spectrometry (GC - MS)
- Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (LC - MS)
- UV-Visible Spectroscopy
Note: please study Pre-seminar materials of the Determination of
Volatile Organic Compounds for an introduction to GC-MS and LC-MS.
• Interpretation chromatograms in identifying the chemicals
Glossary (詞彙)
Adenosine 腺苷
Acetaminophen 醋氨酚
Aspirin 阿士匹靈
Caffeine 咖啡因
Gas Chromatography 氣相色層分析法
Liquid Chromatography 液相色層分析法
Absorbance 吸光度
Spectrometer 光譜儀
Inflammation 炎症 / 發炎
Triglyceride 三酸甘油酯
UV-Visible Spectroscopy 紫外–可見光光譜學