Analysis of Custard Cream
using the ionRocket

Background

In response to a growing interest in food safety, rapid analysis tools are increasingly important for inspection and for quality control. Custard cream, a thick liquid containing large quantities of lipids, normally requires extensive pretreatment prior to analysis. The pretreatment is time-consuming and a burdensome task for investigators. IonRocket achieves the direct analysis of such samples without any pretreatment and a rapid analysis time of just 7 minutes.

Sample

4 different types of custard cream (3 from different cream puffs, 1 from a cream filled bun.)

Method

The analysis system consists of DART®-MS (Direct Analysis in Real Time – Mass Spectrometry) and an ionRocket temperature gradient sample heating system. 10 mg of sample was placed in a sample POT. The system was programmed to create a temperature gradient from room temperature (30ºC) to 500ºC at 100ºC/min. The analysis duration was approximately 7 minutes.

Result

The analysis results were mapped using Mass++ (Figure 1).

Different proportions and different species were detected between the four different creams, from which one can infer the variation of ingredients used. The peak indicated with a star for the “Cream puff A” sample was also found in the “Cream puff C” sample, but not in B. Also, the same components indicated with a circle or a triangle were detected among all the cream puffs A, B and C, but differ in their amounts.

Figure 1. The 3D map of the analyzed result
ionRocket: Room temperature → 100ºC/min → 600ºC, DART®-SVP temperature: 400ºC, Ionization mode: DART®(+)

Target

Food Analysis / Foreign Material Analysis / Material Analysis