Application Note AN # 80 Incoming goods inspection and ... · Application Note AN # 80 Incoming...
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Infrared-spectroscopy has superseded many other physical and also wet-chemical test procedures due to its speed, simplicity and accuracy. High quality IR spectra can be recorded in a few seconds; usually there is no need for sample preparation or costs for expensive consumables. So the answer whether a sample is “OK” or “Not OK” is available within just a minute. Instrumentation Nowadays, incoming goods inspection and quality con- trol using IR spectroscopy are mainly performed in ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) mode as this is much more comfortable to use than the conventional transmission mode. All types of samples (e.g. solids, liquids, powders, pastes, fibres etc.) are just put on the accessory before the data acquisition, that typically takes some seconds, is started. The very compact ALPHA FT-IR spectrometer with the Platinum diamond ATR-module has proven to be very suit- able for routine applications. Diamond is very robust and chemically inert and therefore an ideal material for repeated measurements of a wide range of samples. The ergonomic one-finger clamp mech- anism simplifies the sample positioning for solid samples. Introduction Quality control is a major concern in various sectors of industry (e.g. chemical, pharmaceutical, polymer, automo- tive). The intention is to minimize failures in the produc- tion-process and to assure a constantly high quality for a certain product. The main questions at incoming goods inspection are whether the material is what it is assumed to be, whether it matches the reference standard and whether it is pos- sibly contaminated. Products consisting of several compo- nents are usually tested to assure that the level of variation within the composition is below the defined threshold. Incoming goods inspection usually includes many different raw materials whereas quality assurance is often applied on a large range of produced materials. Therefore, easy-to- use, fast and reliable methods are required here. Application Note AN # 80 Incoming goods inspection and quality control made simple NOT OK?
Transcript of Application Note AN # 80 Incoming goods inspection and ... · Application Note AN # 80 Incoming...
Infrared-spectroscopy has superseded many other physical and also wet-chemical test procedures due to its speed, simplicity and accuracy. High quality IR spectra can be recorded in a few seconds; usually there is no need for sample preparation or costs for expensive consumables. So the answer whether a sample is “OK” or “Not OK” is available within just a minute.
Instrumentation Nowadays, incoming goods inspection and quality con-trol using IR spectroscopy are mainly performed in ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) mode as this is much more comfortable to use than the conventional transmission mode. All types of samples (e.g. solids, liquids, powders, pastes, fibres etc.) are just put on the accessory before the data acquisition, that typically takes some seconds, is started. The very compact ALPHA FT-IR spectrometer with the Platinum diamond ATR-module has proven to be very suit-able for routine applications.Diamond is very robust and chemically inert and therefore an ideal material for repeated measurements of a wide range of samples. The ergonomic one-finger clamp mech-anism simplifies the sample positioning for solid samples.
IntroductionQuality control is a major concern in various sectors of industry (e.g. chemical, pharmaceutical, polymer, automo-tive). The intention is to minimize failures in the produc-tion-process and to assure a constantly high quality for a certain product.
The main questions at incoming goods inspection are whether the material is what it is assumed to be, whether it matches the reference standard and whether it is pos-sibly contaminated. Products consisting of several compo-
nents are usually tested to assure that the level of variation within the composition is below the defined threshold.Incoming goods inspection usually includes many different raw materials whereas quality assurance is often applied on a large range of produced materials. Therefore, easy-to-use, fast and reliable methods are required here.
Application Note AN # 80Incoming goods inspection and quality control made simple
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perform quality control very quickly. For this just one spec-trum of the reference substance is required. QuickCompare calculates the similarity of the sample spectrum with the reference spectrum by a correlation function. The sample is considered to be identical with the reference if the found correlation is above the predefined threshold. Altogether three comparison modes are available in QuickCompare:
Compare to one other spectrum, e.g. master sample. Compare to an average of several spectra, e.g. to consider tolerable variations in batch productions. Compare to several single spectra. This mode provides a fast way of quality control for lots of substances.
This does not require extensive work on setting up a library. Results of QuickCompare are stored with the spectrum and can be reviewed anytime later.
The measurement process can be simplified further by means of the Quality Control Wizard (QC-Wizard). The QC-Wizard is guiding the user through the measurement and evaluation process; with the help of the wizard even an untrained person is able to measure and evaluate a spectrum within a minute. During the measurement and evaluation process the Wizard changes its appearance dynamically, by doing so the user is guided step by step through the whole analytical process. A QuickCompare or
The pressure applicator can be rotated 360° to provide the user an unobstructed access to the sampling area. The ALPHA provides excellent sensitivity and is a very robust system. All spectrometer components are con-tinually monitored. Instrument validation (OQ/PQ) is performed by fully automated test routines to ensure per-manent instrument operation within specification. Further-more the OPUS software is fully compliant to cGMP and 21 CFR part 11 when operated in a compliant environment.The software module QuickCompare in OPUS enables to
Figure 1: ALPHA-P with diamond ATR
Figure 2: OPUS user interface with QC-Wizard bar on the left
a library search just needs one single mouse click. The wizard offers an intuitive and user friendly user interface, as an example Figure 2 shows the QC-Wizard bar with the evaluation functions tab.
Example applicationMaltose better known as malt sugar is a crystalline disac-charide that usually has the appearance of a white powder. It is commonly used in the food industry to sweeten soft drinks and infant food. During incoming goods inspection its identity has to be confirmed and its possible conta-mination or mixture with other white powders has to be excluded.
To measure the background press the “Measure Back- ground” button of the QC-Wizard:
Take a small amount of the powder.
Place the powder on the ATR crystal and ensure good contact by applying the “one-finger” clamp mechanism (for liquid samples no clamp is required).
Measure the spectrum by a click on the “Measure Sample”button:
After the measurement you will see the following buttons on your QC-Wizard bar:
Now you can choose to evaluate your sample spectra via quick compare or a library search. Furthermore printing of the spectra or the result pages can be easily done via the
“Print Report” button. The “Next Sample” button enables you to quickly measure another sample.
The result of QuickCompare is presented to the user as an “OK” or “Not OK” for the samples quality, as shown in figure 3 below:Measure Background
Measure Sample
Figure 3: Comparison of the sample spectrum to an average spectrum of the directory containing reference
spectra of maltose
Compare Spectra Library Search Print Report Next Sample
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Figure 4: Comparison of the sample spectrum to reference spectra of a library; hits below threshold (hit #2 and
3) are greyed indicating that only the first hit is correct.
If the question arises: „Is this sample maltose, fructose or lactose?” the method results in a list of answers, indica-ting those results that are within the desired correlation limit (fig.4). Results below the threshold are greyed.
A click on the “Next Sample”-button will close the Quick-Compare window and the QC-Wizard will offer the user to measure a new sample or to measure a new background first.
SummaryQuickCompare evaluation requires no complex set-up, no sophisticated spectrum manipulations, no library set-up and can even be started with just one reference spec-trum. Together with the QC-Wizard it can even be used by untrained users. The QC-Wizard does not only simplify the measurement and evaluation process, it will also speed up the whole procedure because most interactions just need one mouse click.Bruker Optics FT-IR-spectrometer ALPHA with a diamond ATR module offers a quick and robust measurement me-thod. In combination with the QuickCompare evaluation and the QC-Wizard, the QC-laboratory gets a simple, fast, reliable, and therefore highly productive tool for assuring material identity and quality.
