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Abstract

The Raman microprobe combines the analytical properties of Raman spectroscopy and the visualization capabilities of a high quality microscope, allowing localization and identification of species and phases in time intervals of seconds to a few minutes with a spatial resolution down to 1 µm. This article describes the basic principles of operation of the Raman microprobe and some applications that are important in food technology: in situ differentiation between sucrose and lactose crystals and of amorphous and crystalline phases in sucrose; detection of semi-crystalline and gelatinized zones in starch granules, and phase transitions in cocoa butter after heating (melting)/cooling (crystallization) cycles. Extensions of these applications cover the entire range of food constituents.

La microprobeta Raman combina las propiedades analíticas de la espectroscopía Raman y la capacidad de visualizar áreas de un buen microscopio óptico, que permiten la localización e identificación de compuestos y fases en un material. La resolución alcanza hasta 1 µm y los ensayos se realizan en tiempos de segundos a unos pocos minutos, con una preparación mínima de la muestra. Este artículo describe los principios básicos de la operación de la microprobeta Raman y algunas aplicaciones importantes en tecnología de alimentos: diferenciación directa entre cristales de sacarosa y lactosa y entre las fases amorfa y cristalina de sacarosa; caracterización de gránulos de almidón semi-cristalinos y gelatinizados, y transiciones de fase en manteca de cacao después de un ciclo de calentamiento (fusión)/enfriamiento (cristalización). Estas aplicaciones pueden hacerse extensibles a casi todo el espectro de los componentes de alimentos.

Keywords

Raman spectroscopy microscopy sugars cocoa butter gelatinization crystallization amorphous configuration

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Applications of Microprobe Raman Spectroscopy in Food Science

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