Acrylamide is formed during the cooking process of certain plant-based foods which are rich in carbohydrates and low in protein. Specifically, it forms when asparagine reacts with sugars such as glucose at high temperatures. Acrylamide is a known carcinogen in animals. Accelerated solvent extraction is an excellent technique for extraction of acrylamide from various fried food products. This application note describes a new accelerated solvent extraction method that combines the extraction of low-levels of acrylamide from coffee and chocolate with an in-cell, solid-phase cleanup step.

Accelerated solvent extraction is a proven technique that speeds up the gravimetric fat determination of chocolate products and greatly reduces the amount of solvent used.This Application Update expands the work performed in Thermo Scientific Application Note 344 by using the Dionex ASE 350 system and Thermo Scientific™ Rocket™ Evaporator. The Dionex ASE 350 system has replaced the Dionex ASE 200 system. The Rocket Evaporator eliminates the need for cumbersome nitrogen stream evaporation.

The identification of controlled substances in food matrices is a challenge for forensic laboratories. Classical techniques, such as color tests and thin-layer chromatography, do not provide molecular structural information and cannot be used as a principal means of identification. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) can identify controlled substances, but suffer from several shortcomings. We describe a UHPLC/MS method for the detection, separation and confirmation of psilocybin and psilocin in mushrooms and chocolate matrices.

This application note shows our participation in a successful AOAC collaborative study that resulted in AOAC Method 2000.11.2 Polydextrose is separated on a CarboPac PA1 column and detected by PAD using a triple-potential waveform (Waveform B, Dionex Technical Note 21). A quadruple-potential waveform (Waveform A, TN21) provides greater long-term reproducibility of peak area response compared to Waveform B. We analyzed samples with both waveforms. This application note shows that Waveform A produced results equivalent to those obtained with Waveform B.

Carbohydrates were determined in a chocolate syrup sample using electrolytically-generated eluent on a capillary CarboPac PA20 column and an ICS-5000 capillary system.