LABORATORIES

CO.T.IR. chemical laboratory supports its experimentation, and provides a service for external requests. It is equipped with scientific instruments:

• Instrumentation to determine COD

• Instrumentation to determine BOD

• Kjeldhal digester

• Vapour current distiller

• Microwave mineralizing instrument

• UV/vis spectrophotometer

• A.A. spectrophotometer  provided with atomization systems both flame and electro-thermic

• Ionic chromatograph

• HPLC

At present, CO.T.IR. instruments are used to analyse water, soil and fodder, SUW compost, grapes and  must samples.

CO.T.IR. is also equipped with a NMR spectrometer  - NMR-600 MHz Avance type, digital and high performance, able to analyse liquids and semi-solids.
NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) technique is based on a physical phenomenon so that some nuclei, which have a fundamental intrinsic property such as nuclear spin, subjected to the action of an intense magnetic field and irradiated by radio frequency electromagnetic waves, absorbe and emit again radio waves whose frequency is proportional to the intensity of the magnetic field really "felt" by the nucleus (this phenomenon is called resonance). The spectrum of the electromagnetic waves emitted or absorbed by the sample during a NMR experiment, contains information on the electrons distribution around a particular nucleus, thus, on the sample chemical, and information on the magnetic interactions between nuclei, thus on the structure and dynamics  of the sample molecules.
NMR is  a spectroscopic technique with a very vast application sector in several disciplines such as physics, chemistry,  biology, geology and medicine so it is particularly suitable to the study of such topics which require a multidisciplinary approach like, for instance, the study of foodstuff quality. High-resolution Magnetic Resonance allows to make both qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis  and to obtain significant information for the structure reconstruction and the dynamic of single molecules. In particular, it allows to evaluate distances and bond corners for each nucleus observed which form the examined molecule; moreover, seeing that it is a not invasive technique, it can be used to study the chemical kinetics and living biologic systems in vitro.

When using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, we can obtain structural and quantitative information on a wide range of compounds in a very short time, which makes NMR suitable to applications in which a high number of samples must be analysed and compared (foodstuff analysis). Thus, NMR offers a method to follow chemical and bio-chemical changes of extremely unstable systems such as foodstuff.

In conclusion, NMR spectroscopy seems a very advantageous technique for agricultural and food analysis seeing the rapidity with which we can obtain information on a great number of compounds, the little quantity of sample required for this analysis, and the extreme facility to prepare the samples.