New device detects chemicals and bacteria.

• Position: Food Contamination

A miniature mass spectrometer recently was taken grocery shopping to test for traces of chemicals on standard and organic produce by researchers at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. In the technology's first venture out of the lab, it successfully identified specific chemical residues on apples and oranges in a matter of minutes right in the produce section without having to peel or otherwise prepare a sample of the fruit.

"We're trying to take powerful, sophisticated instruments out of the lab and into the real environment where they could help monitor flesh produce all along the supply chain from production and supply to the consumers," reveals R. Graham Cooks, professor of chemistry and cofounder of the Center for Analytical Instrumentation Development. "This technology has the capability of testing for bacteria as well, like E. coil or salmonella, and it only takes a matter of minutes as opposed to hours or even days for a standard laboratory test."

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Mass spectrometry is a commonly used analysis method known for its sensitivity and accuracy. However, most available mass spectrometers require that a sample be prepared specially and placed in a vacuum chamber for analysis. Cooks and his team developed a technique--called ambient ionization--that allows critical steps to he performed...