The quantification of aroma compounds in plant products, such as wine and essential oils, is traditionally performed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). While GC-MS provides high sensitivity and specificity, it presents several significant drawbacks:
High Costs: The acquisition and maintenance of GC-MS equipment are expensive. Operational costs, including consumables and skilled labor, further exacerbate the financial burden.
Slow Analysis Time: GC-MS analysis is time-consuming, taking hours to complete, leading to low throughput and delayed results.
Environmental Impact: GC-MS generates considerable chemical waste, contributing to environmental pollution and increasing disposal costs.
There are two cases to highlight.
Climate change brings unprecedented challenges to viticulture worldwide. Smoke taint is a key driver for low yields, causing wines to taste like “burnt wood” or “ash.” Although GC-MS can provide essential assessments, the process time during harvest remains a bottleneck, and natural seasonal variations further complicate quality control.
Adulteration of essential oils compromises therapeutic and aromatic properties, posing health risks and damaging the reputation of legitimate producers. It is challenging to distinguish between pure and adulterated oils using organoleptic tests alone. Detecting adulteration at the molecular level is costly, especially with high-cost methods like GC-MS, making ensuring purity difficult batch-to-batch.