In this thesis, a novel method to determine a chemical fingerprint for liquids was developed and it’s performance was studied in real world applications.
The fingerprints are generated from interactions between the main components of a sample, a lanthanide-based signal source and carefully chosen chemical modulators. The sample admixed with the signal source is brought to contact with several modulators separately. The modulators interact with the signal source and the sample molecules modifying luminescence efficiency of the signal source, an europium chelate. Recorded luminescence signals under multiple chemical conditions form the digital data base for further statistical analysis to produce the fingerprint of the sample in question.
The method was applied in the following areas: 1) food product and beverage analysis, 2) on-site monitoring of scale inhibitors in oil and gas production processes and 3) rapid tests for oral cancer. The method performance was better than or identical to those of common FT-IR, HPLC and sensory analysis.
The method proved to be extremely versatile, as it can be applied to multiple fields, and novel applications can be easily developed. The technology has been productized, and test kits and instruments have been produced commercially. The fundamental chemistry of the method is robust and well characterized.