Miniaturized NIR Spectrometers in a Nutshell: Shining Light over Sources of Variance
Giulia Gorla,
Paolo Taborelli,
Hawbeer Jamal Ahmed,
Cristina Alamprese,
Silvia Grassi,
Ricard Boqué,
Jordi Riu,
Barbara Giussani
Affiliations
Giulia Gorla
Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 9, 22100 Como, Italy
Paolo Taborelli
Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 9, 22100 Como, Italy
Hawbeer Jamal Ahmed
Chemometrics, Qualimetrics and Nanosensors Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
Cristina Alamprese
Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Giovanni Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Silvia Grassi
Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Giovanni Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
Ricard Boqué
Chemometrics, Qualimetrics and Nanosensors Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
Jordi Riu
Chemometrics, Qualimetrics and Nanosensors Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
Barbara Giussani
Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 9, 22100 Como, Italy
The increasing portability and accessibility of miniaturized NIR spectrometers are promoting the spread of in-field and online applications. Alongside the successful outcomes, there are also several problems related to the acquisition strategies for each instrument and to experimental factors that can influence the collected signals. An insightful investigation of such factors is necessary and could lead to advancements in experimental set-up and data modelling. This work aimed to identify variation sources when using miniaturized NIR sensors and to propose a methodology to investigate such sources based on a multivariate method (ANOVA—Simultaneous Component Analysis) that considers the effects and interactions between them. Five different spectrometers were chosen for their different spectroscopic range and technical characteristics, and samples of worldwide interest were chosen as the case study. Comparing various portable sensors is interesting since results could significantly vary in the same application, justifying the idea that this kind of spectrometer is not to be treated as a general class of instruments.
