Using a new approach, a team of researchers recently identified for the first time chiral compounds within complex mixtures of grasses with a higher sensitivity level, not to mention, in real-time.
As indicated in a Phys.org report, the chiral signature of a fragrance can show if a perfume is "genuine or fake." Similarly, the chiral signature of a plant's emissions can also offer information on whether the plant is sick or healthy.
Damaged plants and fake perfumes can be identified rapidly and reliably in real time @uni_mainz_eng @ScienceAdvances https://t.co/Xnywp8i3Ka https://t.co/yqShF4yVAx
— Phys.org (@physorg_com) June 20, 2022
Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Max Planck Insitute for Chemistry have created an innovative approach capable of determining and monitoring such chiral signatures.
Most natural chiral substances can be found in two mirror-image forms in different relative amounts. As a result, each plant and perfume must have its chiral hallmark.
ALSO READ: World's First Petabyte Hard Disk Drive Contains Glass for Better Storage Capacity
Researchers revealed how to identify in real-time whether a perfume is authentic or fake, using the chiral signature approach.
Approach with Tremendous Potential in Agriculture and Chemical Industry
According to JGU's Dr. Lykourgo Bougas, the new approach has enormous potential, particularly in agriculture and the chemical industry.
Meanwhile, MPIC's Professor Jonathan Williams added that on top of the commercial applications, this approach would also make it possible for the researchers to decode chiral signals in the area around them, allowing them to understand the atmosphere's chemistry better. The cooperating partners have applied for a patent already for their technique.
The team also said their new chiral-analysis approach offers accurate results, faster and at better sensitivities compared to the traditional techniques, minus the need for any calibration before every measurement run.
In addition, the technique has been incorporated with gas chromatography for the first time to separate the individual components in a complex mixture.
Perfume: Authentic or Fake?
Consequently, the chiral form of each constituent that exists in a complex blend of gases can be directly and precisely identified, explained Bougas, a JGU physicist and lead author of the study published in Science Advances.
In their research, the team proposed an entire range of possible new applications for their detection approach.
One of these is the perfumes' quality control, presently a particularly complicated process as perfumes have several hundred or even thousands of different compounds, both natural and synthetic.
To illustrate the effectiveness of their approach, the study authors compared four authentic, high-quality commercial perfumes with their cheap counterfeits.
As they demonstrated such efficacy, the Main-based researchers could differentiate the high-quality original perfume from their imitations based on their chiral signatures with the help of a rapid measurement.
An Approach Also Effective for Agriculture
This approach might be of significant interest in the field of agriculture, as well. Taking a "young coniferous plant," a similar Mirage News report said, the team revealed that the chiral signature of plants' emissions suddenly changed as soon as the plant was damaged.
Similar chiral signatures have already been observed in plants subject to disease or drought. Such signatures can be employed in practice, for instance, to monitor crop plants continuously and stimulate an alarm if insects infect them, experience a water shortage, or turn unhealthy.
The strategy may assist in obtaining a further understanding of the chemical and physical processes that arise in the atmosphere.
It is known that forests emit vast amounts of volatile organic compounds or VOCs into the environment, many of which are chiral.
Report about the damaged plants and fake perfumes that can be rapidly and reliably identified in real- is shown on Daily News AU's YouTube video below:
RELATED ARTICLE: 'Catalytic Condenser' Demonstrates Alternative Materials Like Metals for Stronger Renewable Energy
Check out more news and information on Chemistry in Science Times.
