Analytical Session
Michael Heidorn, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Dornierstr. 4, 82110 Germering, Germany
Co-author(s): Markus Martin and Frank Steiner, Thermo Fisher
Scientific, Germering, Germany; Rainer Bauder, Thermo Fisher Scientific,
Chelmsford, MA, USA
ABSTRACT: Sample preparation is a crucial point in the
workflow of beer analysis, especially during the brewing process where
very complex matrices form the basic samples. Various sample preparation
techniques are used to remove the beer matrix or enrich analytes of
interest, with solid-phase extraction (SPE) being commonly used when
HPLC is applied for analysis. Typically SPE is performed manually, thus
causing a significant bottleneck as well as error source in laboratory
workflows. Furthermore, samples need to be analyzed in time due to the
ongoing process in the brew kettle. However, conventional analysis takes
about an hour due to sample pretreatment steps, a manual SPE procedure,
and RP-HPLC separation. An automation of this sample cleanup and
analyte enrichment process eliminates all the issues described above,
while the high-speed capabilities of UHPLC technology can significantly
reduce the time required for chromatographic separation. Hence, direct
injection of untreated beer samples becomes feasible, ensuring higher
confidence in the analytical result and higher throughput by an
unattended operation. In this presentation, the UHPLC separation of hop
iso-alpha-acids in beer with an automated on-line SPE solution is
demonstrated. An untreated beer sample is injected directly, all SPE
steps are performed automatically, and the whole analysis lasts only 9
min. Thus, no manual sample pretreatment is needed, and the result of
the high-speed separation reflects the content of iso-alpha-acids in the
beer virtually in real time. Using this automated on-line SPE RP-UHPLC
approach, the bitterness, foam, and stability of a beer can be
controlled in a quick and easy way.
Michael Heidorn, born in
1980, completed an apprenticeship as a chemical laboratory assistant at
Honeywell Specialty Chemicals GmbH, Seelze, Germany, and thereafter
worked for the Research and Development Department of this company.
Afterward, he studied analytical chemistry at the University of Applied
Science in Luebeck, Germany. He completed his diploma thesis on the
influence of frictional heating on column efficiency in UHPLC at the
Research and Development Department of Dionex-Softron GmbH, now part of
Thermo Fisher Scientific, and obtained a graduate chemical engineer
degree. He then began working as a solution specialist in the HPLC
Marketing Department of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
VIEW PRESENTATION 100
