In this module the student will be presented with the principles of Instrumentation and an introduction to spectroscopic methods to carry out quality control analysis of health and wellbeing products. The instrumental methods and basic principles will be presented with particular applications to the food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology areas. This module focuses on the area of instrument calibration, method development and validation. It will look at the fundamental theory of electronic and vibrational spectroscopy for the analysis of a variety of analytes. The module will bring in theory and spectral workshops on instruments such as Raman, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectroscopy with relevant case studies.
This module aims:
- To provide a knowledge and understanding of the theory of advanced spectroscopic instrumentation in the context of food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology analysis.
- To introduce the student to the use of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques along with experimental problem solving, method development and validation, as well as sustainability in (bio)chemical analysis.
- To equip the student with a hands-on knowledge of analytical equipment.
- To give the student practical experience on a range of instruments used for (bio)chemical analysis following sustainable methods and procedures
Analytical methodologies;
- Figures of merit, signal to noise ratio’s, calibration of instrumental methods
- Preparing a standard operating procedure
- Validation of Analytical Methods
Introduction to the fundamentals of spectroscopic methods;
- Electronic Spectroscopy: UV/Vis, Fluorescence, Lasers
- Vibrational spectroscopy: IR, Raman spectroscopy
- Mass Spectroscopy
- NMR spectroscopy (1D and 2D including 1H, 13 C, 1H-1H COSY and HSQC)
Laboratory Practical sessions:
- UV-Vis spectrophotometric analysis of salicylic acid
- Separation and determination of liposoluble vitamins by HPLC
- Quantitative analysis of ethanol content in wine by GC
- Iron determination in water samples by AAs and UV-Vis
- Analysis of the kinetics of sucrose hydrolysis with polarimetry
- Structure analysis of (-)-menthol from peppermint oil by NMR
- NMR spectrometer facility tour
The student's learning will be facilitated in this module by using the following strategies:
1) Class Lectures where the student will learn the basic concepts associated to the subject.
2) Laboratory practicals where the student will familiarise with the application of the relevant instruments. The practicals will include a lab exam and a visit to a TU Dublin research lab or facility.
24 hours lectures: (2 hours/week x 12)
Instrumentation lab: 8 x 3hours labs over one semester
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Formal Examination | 40 |
| Other Assessment(s) | 60 |