Innovative applications of stable carbon isotope ratio in environmental and food chemistry

Abstract

In the last year, the stable isotope ratio analysis has become a useful tool with many applications in different scientific area. In particular the characteristic isotope signature of materials has permitted to identify authenticity and traceability of food sample and isotope composition has become a valuable marker in environmental studies. This work shows the applicability of analytical methods for isotopic carbon determination in food and environmental samples and the innovative use of δ13C in cultural heritage as valuable tool to trace pollutant fate. The first part is dedicated to the improvement of spectroscopic methods as Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Non-Dispersive Infrared spectroscopy (NDIRS) and their application to identify geographical origin in sample like pasta, cocoa, olive oil. The results conducted in order to assess the robustness of the two alternative methods respecting IRMS showed a strong correlation like a demonstration of the positive relationship between the tested analytical methods. A new method was developed 13C NMR spectroscopy to determine the bulk 13C/12C carbon isotope ratio of inorganic carbonates and bicarbonates at natural abundance. In literature the use of 13C NMR spectroscopy was focused on 13C position-specific isotope analysis of organic molecules; in this work it was reported the improvement of NMR methodology able to obtain stable carbon isotope ratio in bulk material using an internal standard...[edited by Author]