Recent trends in the chromatographic analysis of volatile flavor and fragrance compounds: Annual review 2020

Abstract

The chromatographic analysis of volatile flavor and fragrance compounds is performed routinely in several industries and in many fields of scientific research. Typical applications include food‐, environmental‐, essential oil‐ and cosmetics analysis. Even though the analysis of flavors and fragrances have become increasingly standardized during the past decade, there are still a large variety of techniques that can be used for their extraction, chemical analysis, and sensory analysis. Moreover, there are certain less commonly used techniques that are now being used with increased frequency and that are showing the potential of being used as alternatives to the existing standard techniques. In this annual review, the techniques that were most commonly used in 2020 for the investigation of these volatile compounds are discussed. In addition, a number of emerging trends are discussed, notably the use of solvent assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) for extraction, GC ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) for volatile compound analysis and electronic senses, that is, E‐noses and E‐tongues, for sensory analysis. Miscellaneous hyphenated techniques, advances in stationary phase chemistry and a number of interesting applications are also highlighted.

The Aroma Fingerprints and Discrimination Analysis of Shiitake Mushrooms from Three Different Drying Conditions by GC-IMS, GC-MS and DSA

“…The difference in the identified volatile components by GC-MS and GC-IMS might be due to the different working conditions and focal points of the two detection methods [ 36 ]. GC-MS was performed under phase heating and vacuum conditions and focused on qualitative and quantitative accuracy of substances, while GC-IMS was performed under constant temperature and atmospheric pressure and more focused on distinguishing samples [ 18 , 36 ]. This also stated the necessity of the combination of GC-IMS and GC-MS for the flavor analysis.…”

“…Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a matured analytical mass spectrometry technique and regarded to be the “gold standard” for the analysis of volatile flavor and fragrance compounds. It can combine with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) in food analysis [ 17 , 18 ]. HS-SPME-GC-MS integrates the safety and accuracy of HS-SPME, high separation ability of GC, and the superiority of mass spectrometry in the identification of substances [ 19 ].…”

“…Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) is an emerging mass spectrometry technique and is gaining increasing popularity, with automatic headspace sampling (HS) for the analysis of volatile flavor compounds [ 18 ]. When a mixture of volatile compounds is analyzed using GC-IMS, the analytes are first separated by the GC (retention time) and then the elution is separated in the ion mobility spectrometer (drift time) at atmospheric pressure, thereby producing a multidimensional spectrum including retention time, drift time, and signal strength [ 21 , 22 ].…”

“…In addition, it can be used to distinguish between isobaric compounds and certain isomers, which usually are co-eluted from the GC column and hardly be distinguished by mass spectrometry, as well as distinguish the samples with nontargeted volatile fingerprints [ 23 , 24 ]. Compared with GC-MS, GC-IMS has advantages such as intuitive visualization of data, high separation efficiency, high analysis speed, operation at atmospheric pressure, inexpensive maintenance, and possible portability [ 18 , 25 ]. It can be applied in the establishment of volatile flavor fingerprints for food classification and adulteration detection, evaluation of food freshness and spoilage, detection of the off-flavor of food products, monitoring volatile metabolites during food processing, changes in volatile components during storage [ 26 ].…”

Sensing of Airborne Infochemicals for Green Pest Management: What Is the Challenge?

“…Traditionally, qualitative and quantitative analyses of ICs are performed using laboratory analytical instruments like gas chromatography (GC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) or flame ionization detection (FID). − These techniques are highly accurate, selective, and sensitive, but they require long analysis times and use expensive, sophisticated, and large equipment, making them inconvenient for field measurements and untrained users . In nature, volatile signaling molecules are mostly sensed by the insect olfactory system, which inspired the use of biosensors for ICs detection.…”