Univariate and multivariate analysis of Raman spectra for quantitative determination of sugars in beverage industry

Univariate and multivariate analysis methods have been used for discriminating Raman spectra and determining glucose concentration in glucose aqueous solutions, sweetener mixtures and various commercial sport drinks from Raman spectra in the 600-1,600 cm-1 spectral region. They show well defined and separated vibrational fingerprints of the various contained sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose). Single component (glucose or sweetener) content was quantified by using an univariate approach and the interval Partial Least Square (iPLS) analysis based on a model built by employing aqueous glucose solutions as reference/calibration samples. The good agreement between these estimations and those from a biochemical assay proves the goodness of the method. These results represent a key step towards the development of a fast, simple, cost-effective Raman-based method for glucose quantification in products of food and beverage industry. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media.