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Chemists measure chilli sauce hotness with nanotubes
www.physorg.com ^ | 05/08/2008 | Source: Oxford University

Posted on 05/08/2008 6:10:17 AM PDT by Red Badger

Indispensable in hot kitchens: the nanotube

Oxford chemists have found a way of using carbon nanotubes to judge the heat of chilli sauces. The technology might soon be available commercially as a cheap, disposable sensor for use in the food industry.

Professor Richard Compton and his team at Oxford University have developed a sensitive technique to measure the levels of capsaicinoids, the substances that make chillies hot, in samples of chilli sauce. They report their findings in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal The Analyst.

The current industry procedure is to use a panel of taste-testers, and is highly subjective. Compton’s new method unambiguously determines the precise amount of capsaicinoids, and is not only quicker and cheaper than taste-testers but more reliable for purposes of food standards; tests could be rapidly carried out on the production line.They tested a range of chilli sauces, from the mild 'Tabasco Green Pepper' sauce to 'Mad Dog’s Revenge', which sports an extensive health warning and liability disclaimer.

The well-established Scoville method – currently the industry standard – involves diluting a sample until five trained taste testers cannot detect any heat from the chilli. The number of dilutions is called the Scoville rating; the relatively mild Jalapeño ranges from around 2,500-8,000, whereas the hottest chilli in the world, the 'Naga Jolokia', has a rating of 1,000,000. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can also be used but this requires bulky, expensive equipment and detailed analysis of the capsaicinoids.

In Compton’s method, the capsaicinoids are adsorbed onto multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) electrodes. The team measures the current change as the capsaicinoids are oxidised by an electrochemical reaction, and this reading can be translated into Scoville units. The technique is called adsorptive stripping voltammetry (ASV), and is a relatively simple electrochemical method.

Professor Compton said: ‘ASV is a fantastic detection technique for capsaicinoids because it’s so simple - it integrates over all of the heat creating constituents because all of the capsaicinoids have essentially the same electrochemical response.’

Professor Compton has applied for a patent on the technology, and Oxford University’s technology transfer subsidiary ISIS Innovation is actively seeking backers to commercialise the technique.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: food; pepper; tech
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To: evets

OOOH! That looks great! Probably not sold around here......


21 posted on 05/08/2008 6:42:43 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: The Shrew

Ping.


22 posted on 05/08/2008 6:44:36 AM PDT by Interesting Times (Swiftboating, you say? Check out ToSetTheRecordStraight.com)
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To: Abathar

That’s probably why the UK non-Asian birthrate is falling........


23 posted on 05/08/2008 6:45:13 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Red Badger
"Chili peppers are all over the world. Try some Thai peppers sometime. They must be off the scale hot!........"

Hot peppers the world over can trace their origins to the Caribbean.

24 posted on 05/08/2008 6:53:02 AM PDT by blam (Secure the border and enforce the law)
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To: Red Badger

If their hygiene in other places is the same as their dental I can believe that!


25 posted on 05/08/2008 6:57:44 AM PDT by Abathar (Proudly posting without reading the article carefully since 2004)
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To: dmz
I can never follow a receipe or make something the same way twice. That is even more reason to use a tool like this to give me some measure of consistency. When you cook according to the way the wind blows, it would help to have a "compass".
26 posted on 05/08/2008 6:58:18 AM PDT by myprecious
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To: Red Badger
The little orange habanjeros are hotter than Thai peppers. I dry these and grind them to add heat to my chili, soups, ribs, etc.
27 posted on 05/08/2008 7:03:51 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: evets

That’s just messed up.


28 posted on 05/08/2008 7:08:06 AM PDT by Free Vulcan (No prisoners. No mercy. Fight back or STFU!!!)
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To: evets

Cool, send some of that my way!


29 posted on 05/08/2008 7:12:37 AM PDT by doodad
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

http://www.g6csy.net/chile/var-p.html


30 posted on 05/08/2008 7:16:58 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Red Badger
A measurement scale already exists for measuring chili hotness:

  1. Spicy
  2. Slight burn, eyes water
  3. What the hell is this stuff?! You could remove dried paint from your driveway.
  4. Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain.
  5. Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano.
  6. I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds?
  7. My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead, and I can no longer focus my eyes.
  8. My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulfuring flames.
  9. You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing.
  10. Oh my g....

31 posted on 05/08/2008 7:19:39 AM PDT by Jonah Hex ("Never underestimate the hungover side of the Force.")
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To: blam
Hot peppers the world over can trace their origins to the Caribbean.

Yes, many food plants were discovered in the New World and are now "staples" the world over. Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peppers, Corn, Vanilla, Chocolate, Sugarcane, and many types of beans. Makes you wonder what there was to eat before Columbus! Onions and Cabbage?...........

32 posted on 05/08/2008 7:20:28 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Jonah Hex

Top of the scale.......

33 posted on 05/08/2008 7:24:06 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Red Badger
Methinks this will have the same problem that most other electrochemical techniques do----lack of specificity.

HPLC is still the method of choice, IMHO.

34 posted on 05/08/2008 7:28:44 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog

It’s new technology. We’ll haveta give it a chance to play out........


35 posted on 05/08/2008 7:39:05 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Red Badger

Wow...there just isn’t much you can’t do with nanotubes these days.


36 posted on 05/08/2008 7:41:58 AM PDT by ZX12R
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To: ZX12R

For the latest nanotechnology:

http://nanotech.physorg.com/


37 posted on 05/08/2008 7:46:53 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Red Badger
"It’s new technology. We’ll haveta give it a chance to play out........"

True. But I'm basing my opinion on forty years as a practicing analytical chemist. Electrochemical sensors historically have suffered from a lack of specificity, and are most successful when coupled with liquid chromatography, with the EC detector providing high sensitivity, and the LC providing the needed selectivity. LC-EC is a majorly successful analytical tool. Not as successful is gas chromatography, but certainly hugely useful.

38 posted on 05/08/2008 7:49:46 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel-NRA)
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To: Wonder Warthog

I think this particular technology’s claim to fame will be:
Cheap, quick, easy, disposable..........


39 posted on 05/08/2008 7:53:55 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

I have no use for the kind of macho hotter-than-thou posturing prevalent these days; I am a native Texan and chiles are just part of everyday cooking as far as I am concerned. I love Habaneros, though — not just for their tongue-punishing heat, but for their delicious, almost fruity flavor.

My second favorite peppers are Hatch chiles chipotle. Sabroso...


40 posted on 05/08/2008 7:55:19 AM PDT by B-Chan (Catholic. Monarchist. Texan. Any questions?)
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