Our analyzers are built according to the same principle:
- LEDs for illuminating the sample at the wavelengths where it is capable of absorbing the energy and efficiently re-emitting it by means of fluorescence
- A CCD detector capable of accurately recording the spectra emitted by the sample
- Software which cleans up and extracts the information contained in the spectra and applies the calibration models developed for the application in question
- An interface which provides the various measurements chosen to characterize the sample and its level of quality.
- An inert control material for checking the instrument’s stability is used before each series of analyses to confirm the quality of the measurements. If there is a deviation from the value (defined as 100 ex-factory) greater than the confidence interval, please contact our After Sales Department.
- Made in France: the production of all our parts and the assembly of our instruments are handled exclusively in France by the different teams at Chauvin Arnoux.
Biological and food products are naturally fluorescent. Some ingredients, such as proteins and vitamins, the products of chemical or enzymatic reactions such as Maillard reaction products, lipid peroxides or contaminants like mycotoxins or pesticides, emit a specific type of light if they are exposed to visible UV.
By measuring this fingerprint (complex, sensitive, specific signal generated by the raw product without preparation when it is exposed to visible UV light), it is possible to obtain a particularly faithful view of the impact of processes on the physical and chemical structure of agricultural and food products. These processes may be:
- biological processes, like the growth of a plant or germination of a seed,
- biochemical processes, such as during the secretion of mycotoxins by the Fusarium fungus; some mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins, produce a more intense signal
- chemical processes, such as the production of Maillard reaction products under the impact of the temperature, or lipid peroxidation in the presence of oxygen
- physico-chemical processes, like protein denaturation due to heating or the modification of wheat’s structure during milling.
A single measurement of the sample provides information on the product’s physical and chemical state and therefore, indirectly, on the functional properties induced.
To analyze and process this signal, complex mathematical processes developed by chemometricians and data scientists must be used.
In particular, calibration of the signal is necessary if you want to measure a quality indicator. The calibration seeks the relation between the fluorescence signal and the concentration or level of the indicator, itself quantified by laboratory methods known as the methods of reference.
We develop generic calibration models for turnkey use of measurement with our analyzers, but we also develop specific calibration models applicable to each customer’s particular needs, products and evaluation techniques. Local automatic calibration methods are also being developed to allow customers the freedom to build models as they wish and to ensure that the models specifically match their particular context.
Fluorescence can also be used for direct measurement of fluorescent molecules such as proteins, vitamin B2 (riboflavin) or chlorophyll, as long as the medium is transparent.
This is the case for water and for soluble extracts of solid or opaque products: milk, soya, hydrolysis products, etc.
This is the method which we use to measure levels of non-denatured native proteins with AMALTHEYS. It involves using milk to prepare a transparent medium by precipitation of the caseins and denatured proteins. A buffer is supplied with a kit to ensure simple, reproducible preparation of the transparent solution of native whey proteins or other dairy products. The analyzer measures the natural fluorescence of the amino acid tryptophan, one of the components of milk proteins whose concentration is proportional to that of the proteins.
PREPARATION KIT
AMALTHEYS® is delivered in a transportable case with all the necessary additional products and consumables (distributors, vials, etc.).
Ready-to-use sample preparation kits have been developed to enable an operator without any particular technical expertise to perform analyses with AMALTHEYS®. Each kit contains all the consumables needed to perform 100 or 500 analyses, depending on your use of the analyzer.
