Nearly any analysis of food products requires some kind of sample preparation to remove particles, fats, proteins, and more from the matrix to guarantee data reliability and safeguard long-term instrumental performance. A free white paper compares automated Inline Ultrafiltration and Inline Dialysis to the traditional Carrez clarification procedure for the analysis of dairy products by ion chromatography (IC).

Most sample preparation procedures for food analysis are carried out manually and offline, accounting for a significant amount of laboratory work and operating costs. This can also potentially impact the analysis due to human errors. Carrez clarification, which is used to remove proteins and fats from dairy products prior to analysis, involves several manual steps and the addition of specific chemicals.

To overcome such time-consuming manual procedures and protect laboratory assets, innovative automated inline sample preparation techniques were developed by Metrohm – among them Inline Ultrafiltration (for removing particles) and Inline Dialysis (for removing fats and proteins). This White Paper focuses on the results of a six-month study comparing traditional Carrez clarification with automated inline sample preparation techniques for dairy samples. Results show that inline dialysis is a robust and highly efficient alternative to the traditional manual sample treatment used for dairy samples and other challenging food matrices.