A Study of Wheat Flour Tortillas using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy LIBS

Wheat flour tortillas of different colors and composition were studied with the aid of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy LIBS . Due to its simplicity, fast response, little or no sample preparation, LIBS is presented as an effective tool for rapid in situ sample analysis of food samples with emphasis on tortillas. Spectroscopic analysis of the plasma generated by Nd YAG laser irradiation of tortilla was carried out. A careful selection of spectral lines of Ca, Na and K which do not suffer from spectral interference was made. Spectral properties of the above mentioned elements such as peak intensities, intensity ratios, and area under spectral lines were analyzed. Optimization of laser pulse energy, detection gate width and gate delay for well resolved spectra with high signal to noise ratio was done and other parameters studied. Among the spectral lines selected for analysis, the Na I 589.00 and 589.60 nm doublet were found to show interesting properties. Tortillas manufactured by Gruma Corporation and Mexamerica, of brown, orange, green and white colors as well as homemade tortillas were studied in this work and the results from both dried and undried samples is presented. Charles Ghany | Hervé Sanghapi | C R Bhatt | Bader Alfarraj | Fang Y. Yueh | Jagdish P. Singh "A Study of Wheat Flour Tortillas using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-6 , October 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd29209.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/food-engineering/29209/a-study-of-wheat-flour-tortillas-using-laser-induced-breakdown-spectroscopy-libs/charles-ghany