The spectroscopy unit is part of the Central Analytical laboratory structure (CALab) and is dedicated to the acquisition of spectral properties of a variety of samples. The unit has several instruments to measure spectra properties in the infrared range, including both near and mid infrared regions
Three Bruker instruments and a FOSS Winescan are available at the moment. The NIR Bruker instrument has multiple probes which allows us to measure a wide variety of samples in solid and liquid format using both reflection and transmission technology.
The MIR instrument was initially suited for liquid samples for which an autosampler is also available. A total reflection module was recently incorporated which provides capabilities for samples in solid and powder format.
A contactless NIR instrument is also available. This instrument is based in direct reflection technology and is suitable for in-line process measurements besides static spectra data acquisition.
Finally, the FOSS Winescan is used for juice and wine oenological parameters with optimized local calibrations.
The spectral measurements and instrumentation are currently used in a large number of projects and also part of the curriculum. IR technology is also widely used for winemaking purposes.
The spectroscopy unit has been used beyond grape and wine applications. Other fruits such as pomegranate or citrus, oils, other alcoholic beverages or even soil samples have been measured with the available instrumentation.
The unit team is well experienced in chemometrics and multivariate data analysis tools to develop quantification calibrations of multiple properties or analytes.
Contact:
Jose Luis Aleixandre-Tudo joaltu@sun.ac.za
Helene Nieuwoudt hhn@sun.ac.za
Astrid Buica abuica@sun.ac.za
