The main areas of research carried out at the Group focus on volatile and aroma compounds in food.

The main areas of research carried out at the Group focus on volatile and aroma compounds in food. Research in this area began in the 1970s (prof. Wąsowicz and prof. Kamiński). From the outset, great emphasis was placed on the role of instrumental analysis in the investigation of volatile compounds – the gas chromatography laboratory started at that time. In its current form, it is one of the best-equipped gas chromatography and mass spectrometry laboratories in the field of food volatiles research. Its equipment often includes the first analytical solutions in the country, such as electronic noses and complete two-dimensional gas chromatography.

Research conducted in the field of volatile and odor compounds in food covers such issues as:

• Identification of key odor compounds that determine the aroma of food and are also responsible for food taints and off-flavors. These are conducted using gas chromatography with olfactometry (GC-O) to identify odor-active fractions, and using various variants of GC-MS (GC-MS/MS, GC-MS, GC×GC-TOFMS) to identify and quantify them. When possible, we perform quantitative analysis based on the isotopologues of the compounds being determined (SIDA).
• Volatile/odor compounds as indicators of undesirable changes occurring in food during its production and storage, generated by microorganisms, biochemical and chemical processes.
• The use of volatile compound profiling techniques to identify the botanical/regional origin of products and to assess food authenticity. Methods based on the extraction of volatile compounds using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and complete two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) with mass spectrometry, or using a quasi-electronic nose (HS-SPME-MS) are used for this purpose.
• Development of sample prep techniques for the extraction of mainly volatile and aroma compounds from food and plant material. The techniques used and developed include SPME, VASE, TF-SPME, SPE, and P&T.
• Analysis of odor precursor compounds, mainly amino acids, fatty acids, mono- and oligosaccharides, organic acids, and glucosinolates.
• Food metabolomics
• Volatile compounds produced by micororganisms
• Analysis of enentiomers of aroma active compounds using chiral gas chromatography