Giorgia Purcaro

Publications (34) View all

• Article: Detailed elucidation of hydrocarbon contamination in food products by using solid-phase extraction and comprehensive gas chromatography with dual detection.

  Giorgia Purcaro, Peter Q Tranchida, Laura Barp, Sabrina Moret, Lanfranco S Conte, Luigi Mondello
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The present work is focused on the development/optimization of a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography method, with dual detection [flame ionization (FID) and mass spectrometric], for the simultaneous identification and quantification of mineral-oil contaminants in a variety of food products. The two main classes of contaminants, namely saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, were previously fractionated on a manually-packed silver silica solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The quantitative results were compared with those obtained by performing a large volume injection, in a GC-FID system, after the same SPE process and by an on-line liquid-gas chromatography method, with very similar results observed. The presence of a series of unknown compounds, that appeared when using the off-line methods, was investigated using the mass spectrometric data, and were tentatively-identified as esterified fatty acids, most probably derived from vegetable oil based ink.
  Analytica chimica acta 04/2013; 773:97-104. · 4.31 Impact Factor
• Article: Overview on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Occurrence, legislation and innovative determination in foods.

  Giorgia Purcaro, Sabrina Moret, Lanfranco S Conte
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are ubiquitous compounds, well-known to be carcinogenic, which can reach the food in different ways. Thus the analysis of such compounds has always been of great importance. The aim of the present review, is not only to give an overview of the most recent sample preparation and analytical approaches (such as pressurized liquid extraction, solid-phase microextraction, supercritical fluid extraction, etc.), but also to introduce such a topic to researchers who want to approach it for the first time; therefore, the most significant references related to general aspects, such as formation, toxicity, risk assessment, occurrence in food, are reported and briefly discussed.
  Talanta 02/2013; 105C:292-305. · 3.79 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Giorgia Purcaro

  Article: Evaluation of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to rapid scanning quadrupole mass spectrometry for quantitative analysis.

  Bruno José Gonçalves Silva, Peter Quinto Tranchida, Giorgia Purcaro, Maria Eugênia Costa Queiroz, Luigi Mondello, Fernando Mauro Lanças
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) is a powerful technique that provides excellent separation and identification of analytes in highly complex samples with considerable increase in GC peak capacities. However, since second dimension analyses are very fast, detectors with a rapid acquisition rate are required. Over the last years, quite a number of studies have discussed the potential and limitations of the combination GC×GC with a variety of quadrupole mass spectrometers. The present research focuses on the evaluation of qMS effectiveness at a 10,000-amu/s scan speed and 20-Hz scan frequency for the identification (full scan mode acquisition-TIC) and quantification (extracted ion chromatogram) of target pesticide residues in tomato samples. The following MS parameters have been evaluated: number of data points per peak, mass spectrum quality, peak skewing, and sensitivity. The validated proposed GC×GC/qMS method presented satisfactory results in terms of repeatability (coefficient of variation lower than 15%), accuracy (84-117%), and linearity (ranging from 25 to 500 ng/g), while significant enhancement in sensitivity was observed (a factor of around 10) under scan conditions.
  Journal of chromatography. A 05/2012; 1255:177-83. · 4.19 Impact Factor
• Article: HS–SPME–GC applied to rancidity assessment in bakery foods

  G. Purcaro, S. Moret, L. S. Conte
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Fat is present in bakery foods, as a natural component of ingredients or it is added in the formulation for rheological, technological and sensorial reasons. However the presence of fat can lead to oxidation problems during the shelf life of the products, also affected by cooking temperatures. The control of the oxidative status deals with two issues: the insurance of food safety for consumers and economic aspects for companies. This work points out the possibility to use hexanal as unique index for oxidation status and it suggests a fast solid phase microextraction (SPME) method to analyze it.
  European Food Research and Technology 04/2012; 227(1):1-6. · 1.57 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Flavio Antonio Franchina

  Article: Determination of saturated-hydrocarbon contamination in baby foods by using on-line liquid-gas chromatography and off-line liquid chromatography-comprehensive gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry.

  Luigi Mondello, Mariosimone Zoccali, Giorgia Purcaro, Flavio Antonio Franchina, Danilo Sciarrone, Sabrina Moret, Lanfranco Conte, Peter Quinto Tranchida
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The present contribution describes an investigation directed towards the use of a rapid heart-cutting multidimensional LC-GC-FID method for the analysis of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH), contained in different types of homogenized solid baby food (fish, meat and fruit products). The fish and meat products all contained vegetable oil (sunflower), potentially an important source of mineral-oil contamination. Sixteen commercial baby food samples were subjected to analysis, with various degrees of MOSH contamination (from 0.3mg/kg to circa 14mg/kg) found. Hence, MOSH contamination was found not only in the meat and fish products, but also in the fruit ones. A fruit-based baby food was lab-made, using the ingredients reported on the commercial product, and was found to be contaminated. The single ingredients were then subjected to LC-GC analysis, with corn starch and sugar found to be the source of contamination. For confirmation of the analytical findings, three of the sixteen samples were analyzed in two separate laboratories, using two distinct LC-GC methods, based on different interfaces. The results were confirmed, in qualitative terms, by collecting the LC fractions, relative to some of the food samples, and subjecting them to comprehensive two-dimensional GC-quadrupole mass spectrometry. Thus, mass spectral data were attained for the saturated hydrocarbons.
  Journal of chromatography. A 04/2012; 1259:221-6. · 4.19 Impact Factor